is a professor in the ''Research Center for Urban Safety and Security'' in the ''Graduate School of Science'' at

Kobe University , also known in the Kansai region as , is a leading Japanese national university located in the city of Kobe, in Hyōgo. It was established in 1949, but the academic origins of Kobe University trace back to the establishment of Kobe Higher Comme ...

, Japan and a seismologist who has written extensively in the areas of

seismicity Seismicity is a measure encompassing earthquake occurrences, mechanisms, and magnitude at a given geographical location. As such, it summarizes a region's seismic activity. The term was coined by Beno Gutenberg and Charles Francis Richter in 19 ...

and

seismotectonics Seismotectonics is the study of the relationship between the earthquakes, active tectonics and individual faults of a region. It seeks to understand which faults are responsible for seismic activity in an area by analysing a combination of region ...

in and around the Japanese Islands. He also coined the term '' genpatsu-shinsai'' (原発震災), from the Japanese words for "nuclear power" and "quake disaster". Katsuhiko Ishibashi has said that Japan's history of

nuclear accident A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility. Examples include lethal effects to individuals, lar ...

s stems from an overconfidence in plant engineering. He was a member of a 2006 Japanese government subcommittee charged with revising the national guidelines on the earthquake-resistance of nuclear power plants, published in 2007."Quake shuts world's largest nuclear plant"
''Nature'', vol 448, 392-393, , (July 25, 2007) Retrieved March 18, 2011 His proposal that the committee should review the standards for surveying active faults was rejected and, at the committee's final meeting he resigned claiming that the review process was "unscientific" and the outcome riggedJapan Nuclear Energy Drive Compromised by Conflicts of Interest

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...

, published 2007-12-12, accessed 2011-04-11 to suit the interests of the

Japan Electric Association The (JEA) is a membership organisation for the electricity sector in Japan and, although it has roots dating back to 1892, was founded in October 1921.

, which had 11 of its committee members on the 19-member government subcommittee and that among other problems the guide was "seriously flawed" as a consequence because it underestimated the design basis earthquake ground motion.Katsuhiko Ishibashi
"Why worry? Japan's nuclear plants at grave risk from quake damage"
''The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus'' (August 11, 2007) Also published by the ''International Herald Tribune'' (August 11, 2007). Retrieved March 24, 2011 In May 2011, he said: "If Japan had faced up to the dangers earlier, we could have prevented Fukushima".

Publications

* Ishibashi, K., "Why worry? Japan's nuclear plants at grave risk from quake damage", '' International Herald Tribune'' and ''The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus'' (August 11, 2007) * Ishibashi, K., "Status of historical seismology in Japan", ''Annals of Geophysics', Vol.47, 339-368 (2004) * Ishibashi, K., "Seismotectonic modeling of the repeating M 7-class disastrous Odawara earthquake in the Izu collision zone, central Japan", ''Earth Planets Space'', Vol.56, 843-858 (2004) * Miyoshi, T. and K. Ishibashi, "Geometry of the seismic Philippine Sea slab beneath the region from Ise Bay to western Shikoku, southwest Japan, Zisin" ''J. Seismol. Soc. Japan'', Ser. 2, Vol.57, 139-152 (English abstract) (2004) * Itani, Y. and Ishibashi, K., "Horizontal crustal strain in the Izu Peninsula - Mt. Fuji region derived from GEONET data and its tectonic implication, Zisin", ''J. Seismol. Soc. Japan'', Ser. 2, Vol.56, 231-243 (English abstract) (2003) * Harada, T. and Ishibashi, K., "The 1958 great Etorofu earthquake was a slab event: Suggestion from the mainshock-aftershock relocation", ''EOS'', Vol. 81, No. 22 Suppl. WP157 (2000) * Ishibashi, K., ''An Era of Underground Convulsions: A Seismologist Warns'', Iwanami Paperbacks, Iwanami Shoten (1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ishibashi, Katsuhiko People associated with nuclear power Japanese seismologists Living people 1944 births Kobe University faculty

Publications

See also

References