| Agency Name: | Japan Meteorological Agency |
| Picture Caption: | Headquarters building in Tokyo |
| Preceding1: | Tokyo Meteorological Observatory |
| Preceding2: | Central Meteorological Observatory |
| Jurisdiction: | Government of Japan |
| Headquarters: | 3-6-9 Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo, Japan |
| Coordinates: | 35.6658°N 139.7458°W |
| Employees: | 5,539 (2010)[1] |
| Budget: | ¥62.0 billion (2010–11)[2] ¥59.0 billion (2011–12)[3] ¥58.9 billion (est. 2012) |
| Chief1 Name: | Toshihiko Hashida |
| Chief1 Position: | Director-General |
| Chief2 Name: | Itaru Kaga |
| Chief2 Position: | Deputy Director-General |
| Parent Agency: | Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism |
The Japan Meteorological Agency (気象庁, Kishō-chō), a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is dedicated to the scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo the agency diligently collects data on meteorology, hydrology, seismology, and volcanology, and other related fields. Through meticulous analysis and interpretation of this information, the JMA provides vital insights to the public, offering crucial knowledge and forecasts to enhance preparedness and mitigate risks associated with weather patterns, earthquakes, volcanic activities, and other natural occurrences.
The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) is responsible for collecting and disseminating weather data and forecasts to the public, as well as providing specialized information for aviation and marine sectors. Additionally, the JMA issues warnings for volcanic eruptions and is integral to the nationwide Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system. As one of the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers designated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the JMA also forecasts, names, and distributes warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific region. This includes areas such as the Celebes Sea, the Sulu Sea, the South China Sea, the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Meteorological organizations in Japan have their origins in the 1870s, when the first weather stations started being established in the country.[1] One of these was the, which since 1956 has been known as the . It was originally formed within the . However, jurisdiction over the agency has changed several times over the years, and since the Japanese government reformation in 2001, it has been an agency of the . Its headquarters have also changed several times, and as of November 24, 2020, they are now located in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo.
The JMA is responsible for observing, gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts, and warning for earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and volcanic eruptions..[7]
The agency has six regional administrative offices (including five DMOs and Okinawa Meteorological Observatory), four Marine Observatories, five auxiliary facilities, four Aviation Weather Service Centers and 47 local offices composed of the LMOs. These are also used to gather data, supplemented by weather satellites such as Himawari, and other research institutes.[7]
In 1968, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) designated the JMA as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC) for Asia.[8] In June 1988, the WMO also assigned the JMA as a RSMC for the Northwestern Pacific under its Tropical Cyclone programme.[8] In July 1989, the RSMC Tokyo – Typhoon Center was established within the headquarters office, which dealt with the forecasting and dissemination of active tropical cyclones, as well as preparing a summary of each year's cyclone activity.[9]
Each DMO and LMO issues weather forecasts and warnings or advisories to the general public live in its own area. Weather data used to these forecasts are acquired from the Surface Observation (represented by the AMeDAS), the Radar Observation, the Observation and the Satellite Observation mainly using the Himawari series of satellites.
See also: Marine weather forecasting.
The Marine Observatories are seated in Hakodate, Maizuru, Kobe, Nagasaki. These stations observe ocean waves, tide levels, sea surface temperatures and ocean currents etc. in the Northwestern Pacific basin, as well as the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and provide marine meteorological forecasts in cooperation with the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department, Japan Coast Guard.
In 2005, in accordance with the ICAO's new CNS/ATM system, the Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism set up the Air Traffic Management Center (ATMC) in Fukuoka, where the FIR is fixed. Along with this establishment, JMA placed the Air Traffic Mateorology Center (ATMetC) inside the ATMC.
The agency forecasts SIGMET for aircraft in flight within the Fukuoka FIR airspace, while VOLMET is broadcast by each Aviation Weather Service Center at the airports of Haneda, Narita, Centrair and Kansai.
See also: Typhoon.
In the Northwestern Pacific area, the typhoon season ordinarily comes almost from May to November. The JMA forecasts and warns or advises on tropical cyclones to the public in Japan and its surrounding countries as the RSMC Tokyo – Typhoon Center.
See also: Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale and Earthquake Early Warning (Japan).
The JMA has 624 observation stations across Japan[10] which are set up at intervals of 20 km approximately[11] in order to measure the seismic intensity of earthquakes precisely. The agency also utilizes about 2,900 seismographs[10] owned by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience (NIED) and local governments. A 24-hour office is housed within the JMA headquarters in Tokyo for monitoring and tracking seismic events in the vicinity of Japan to collect and process their data, which distributes observed earthquake information on its hypocenter, magnitude, seismic intensity and possibility of tsunami occurrence after quakes quickly to the public through the Earthquake Phenomena Observation System (EPOS).[12] The Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system began to work fully for the general public on October 1, 2007.
The agency is one of the representatives of the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction.[13]
See also: Tsunami warning system.
In case of a possibility of tsunami after an earthquake, JMA issues Tsunami Warning or Advisory for each region in Japan with information of estimated tsunami heights and arrival times within 2 to 3 minutes of the quake.
See also: Volcanic Ash Advisory Center.
The agency four Volcanic Observations and Information Centers within DMOs in Sapporo, Sendai, Tokyo and Fukuoka. These centers monitor volcanic events on 110 active volcanos in Japan. 47 of these volcanos selected by the Coordinating Committee for Prediction of Volcanic Eruption are under 24-hour observation with seismographs, accelerometers, GPS, air-shock recorders, fixed point observation cameras and other equipment. If it is predicted that a volcanic eruption will affect inhabited areas or around a crater, Volcanic Warnings are issued and supplemented by Volcanic Alert Levels.
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