Geospatial Information Authority of Japan
Encyclopedia
The , or GSI, is the national institution responsible for surveying and mapping the national land of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The former name of the organization, since 1949 to March 2010 was Geographical Survey Institute. It is an organization attached
Attached organization
In Japan, an is an organization in the Japanese government that is attached to the Cabinet Office, ministries or their Government agency and is established for some special purposes. It is distinguished from an affiliated institution. The classification was created when the amendments to the...

 to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (Japan)
The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government. It is responsible for one-third of all the laws and orders in Japan and the largest Japanese ministry in terms of employees, as well as the second-largest organ of the Japanese government after the Ministry of Defense...

. Its main offices are situated in Tsukuba City of Ibaraki Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan, located in the Kantō region on the main island of Honshu. The capital is Mito.-History:Ibaraki Prefecture was previously known as Hitachi Province...

.

It also runs a museum, situated in Tsukuba, the Science Museum of Map and Survey
Science Museum of Map and Survey
The is a museum in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan that is dedicated to mapping and surveying.The museum was the first of its kind in Japan when it was opened by the Geographical Survey Institute of Japan in June 1996.-External links:**Located at:...

.

Earthquake Precursor Prediction Research

Stationary MT monitoring systems have been installed in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 since April 1996, providing a continuous recording of MT signals at the Mizusawa Geodetic Observatory and the Esashi Station of the GSI. These stations measure fluctuations in the earth's electromagnetic field that correspond with seismic activity. The raw geophysical time-series data from these monitoring stations is freely available to the scientific community, enabling further study of the interaction between EM events and earthquake activity. The MT time series data from the GSIJ earthquake monitoring stations is available online at http://vldb.gsi.go.jp/sokuchi/geomag/menu_03/mt_data-e.html

The Authority is represented on the national Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction
Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction
The Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction in Japan was founded in April 1969, as part of the Geodesy Council's Second Earthquake Prediction Plan, in order to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of earthquake data in Japan. The committee consists of 30 members and meets four times each...

.

The GSI in fiction

The GSI featured in the novel Norwegian Wood
Norwegian Wood (novel)
is a 1987 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami.The novel is a nostalgic story of loss and sexuality. The story's protagonist and narrator is Toru Watanabe, who looks back on his days as a college student living in Tokyo...

by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami
is a Japanese writer and translator. His works of fiction and non-fiction have garnered him critical acclaim and numerous awards, including the Franz Kafka Prize and Jerusalem Prize among others.He is considered an important figure in postmodern literature...

 as the intended workplace of his roommate, "stormtrooper". At the time the novel was set, in the late sixties, the GSI was situated in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

.

See also

  • Japanese maps
    Japanese maps
    The earliest known term used for maps in Japan is believed to be kata , which was probably in use until roughly the 8th century. During the Nara period, the term \u...

    , the history of mapping in Japan.
  • Japanese map symbols
    Japanese map symbols
    This is a list of symbols appearing on Japanese maps. These symbols are called in the Japanese language.symbolmeaningillustrationsymbolmeaningillustrationMunicipal building Municipal building...

    , the official symbols used by the GSI in maps.
  • Global Map
    Global Map
    Global Map is a set of digital maps which accurately cover the whole globe to express the status of global environment. It is developed through the cooperation of National Mapping Organizations in the world...


External links

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