Jakarta, 6 November 2020: Prof Hidetoshi Nishimura, President of ERIA, attended the 4^th General Assembly Meeting of the International Tsunami Disaster Prevention Society chaired by Prof Akiko Yamanaka, Special Advisor to the President of ERIA.

The international Tsunami Disaster meeting was established on 11 November 2017 to improve interdisciplinary and international research aimed at reducing or eliminating the loss of life and property due to tsunamis. Prof Yamanaka was assigned as the President of the Society in 2018 to encourage international activities.

The Meeting addressed (1) Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake, (2) Conceptual plan for a floating disaster medical support system, (3) Possibility of floating disaster medical support system for medical use and (4) miscellaneous business of the Society, such as the fiscal report of the last year and the activity report.

In his remarks, Prof Nishimura emphasized that (1) we must be prepared at all times as disasters are not a special event, (2) In order to implement disaster prevention measures, it is necessary to make local efforts in which not only some experts, governments, companies and international organization but also residents participate. He also asserted that advances in science and communication technology, such as improvement of the accuracy of natural disaster prediction and forecasting and early warning system, could save many lives from disasters.