Former Kitakami River Estuary Restoration and Reconstruction Project

Ishinomaki City, which has long thrived as an river port centered around the former Kitakami River estuary, suffered severe damage in Great East Japan Earthquake. New embankments are essential to protect the city from Tsunamis, storm surges, and flooding. However, building new embankments in a city that has developed a unique lively atmosphere in harmony with its waterfront precisely because it lacked embankments is no easy feat. How could an embankment be constructed to protect the lives and property of residents while maintaining the close relationship between the river and their daily lives? PACIFIC CONSULTANTS was deeply involved in the restoration and reconstruction project for the former the Kitakami River estuary, a difficult challenge. Takahito AMADA from the River Structure Sec., Watershed Structure Dept., Land Infrastructure Div., and Kiyoto TSUKA from the Waterworks Sec., Hokkaido Land Infrastructure Dept., Hokkaido Branch Office who were central contributors to the project, look back on the work, which spanned more than 11 years.

Design of "Nakahashi Bridge" in Minamisanriku Town

The roadside station "Sansan Minamisanriku," which was developed in the new urban area, with the earthquake reconstruction memorial park built on the opposite riverbank. The bridge was designed by a joint venture between PACIFIC CONSULTANTS and Kengo Kuma & Associates. Based on Kuma company's image perspective, PACIFIC CONSULTANTS was responsible for the design and construction of a bridge that would be a fitting symbol of the town's reconstruction, balancing delicate design with a high level of structural safety. Completed in 2020, Nakahashi Bridge won Tanaka Prize from Japan Society of Civil Engineers in the same year. We talked to Norio SAITO from Structural Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div. who was responsible for the design work as the managing engineer.

Use of SAR Satellites in Disaster Prevention

The "Long-Term Assessment of the Probability of Earthquakes" by the government's Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion predicts a high probability of a massive earthquake, and as natural disasters become more severe and frequent due to climate change, the efficiency and sophistication of disaster prevention and mitigation measures through DX are becoming an urgent issue. As an important tool for this, commercial SAR satellites are attracting attention because of their ability to observe the ground at high frequencies regardless of time of day or weather conditions. We interviewed Mr. Toshiki YANAGIMACHI, Technical Manager of the Resilience Promotion Sec., Mr. Tsukasa MITOGAWA, Assitant Manager of the Disaster Prevention DX Promotion Sec. of Disaster Prevention Dept., Digital Service Div. and Mr. Nobukazu SASAKI, General Manager of Technology Development Sec. of Advanced Technology Center of PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, who are working on satellite applications in the field of spatial information technology.

Redevelopment Project for Shinjuku - the Hub with the World's Highest Number of Passengers

In 1958, Shinjuku, along with Shibuya and Ikebukuro, was designated as a sub-center of Tokyo. Over 60 years later, it has grown into the world's busiest terminal. However, issues have emerged, including limited space for people to stay, complicated transfer routes, and the aging of the station and station building. In 2018, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government formulated the concept "Shinjuku Grand Terminal", which involves a large-scale reorganization of the area immediately surrounding the station. Construction began in 2021, with the goal of roughly completing the project by 2035 and completing it by 2046. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS has been supporting the project from an early stage, including through business plan review. Tetsuya KAWAMOTO and Takayuki YOSHIMI from the Project Management Dept., and Takuto MIKUNIYA from the Global Company's International Smart Planning Dept., talked about the progress of the ambitious Shinjuku redevelopment project.

Responding to the Issue of Replacing Wind Power Generation Equipment

Japan's onshore wind power generation, which began full-scale deployment in the 2000s, now has a cumulative installed capacity well over 5GW, and is expected to reach 18GW by 2030. The country plans to further increase onshore as well as offshore wind power generation in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, but along with new installations, the replacement (upgrading) of currently operating power plants will be essential. We spoke to Kentaro HAGA, Yamato IRIE, and Kana YAMAGUCHI of the Wind Power Promotion Project, Project Management Project Management Dept. Project Management Business Headquarters, who are responsible for wind power generation design at PACIFIC CONSULTANTS Consultants, about the challenges of replacement and key points in formulating an implementation plan.

What is Floating Offshore Wind Power Generation?

In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, the Japanese government has set a target of 40-50% of renewable energy in the energy mix by fiscal year 2040. Wind power, particularly floating offshore wind power, is expected to play a major role alongside solar power. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS has a proven track record in the wind power field since the early 2000s. We spoke with three people about the current state and future outlook for floating offshore wind power: Takehiko SANO, General Manager of the Wind Power Promotion Project Sec. in the Project Management Dept. of the Project Management Div.; Katsuhide FUJISHIMA, Chief Engineer; and Aya IWANAMI, Assistant Technical Manager at the Earthquake Resistance Center in Structural Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div.

Energy-related Project in Rankoshi Town, Hokkaido

Rankoshi Town in Hokkaido is known nationwide as one of the best producers of delicious rice. It is a beautiful town blessed with abundant nature. However, like many local municipalities, it faces many challenges due to a declining population and an aging population with a low birthrate, and it also needed to take immediate action to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS noticed that Rankoshi Town was considering utilizing "Energy Structure Advancement and Conversion Understanding Promotion Project" of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and supported its efforts, such as developing solid fuel using rice husks and utilizing wastewater heat from hot springs, which have produced many results. Katsunori AMEJIMA of the Regional Energy Sec., Hokkaido Social Innovation Department, looks back on the project.

Climate Change Adaptation Measures in Ports and Harbors

With rising sea levels and larger typhoons due to climate change, how to protect ports from flooding damage has become a major issue. However, because ports are spread across a wide area and involve a variety of public and private entities, no single entity can take effective measures alone. What is needed is "collaborative protection," in which all stakeholders work together toward a common goal. The government has also published "Guidelines for Creating Collaborative Protection Plans," and in the future, each port will begin full-scale efforts. We spoke with Takayuki Ooie, General Manager of Section of Ports and Harbors and Coast Sec. in the Port Ports and Harbors Dept. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, and Ryunosuke Kanno Chief Project Manager of Ports and Harbors Planning Sec. about the latest trends in collaborative protection efforts.

What is a Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (VII) System?

Efforts are underway to realize Level 4 autonomous driving. As navigating intersections on public roads is a major challenge, the development of a Vehicle-Infrastructure Integration (VII) through road infrastructure development has been considered, and demonstration experiment have been carried out in various locations. From next fiscal year, the launch of technical standards and guidelines will finally begin, and the system will enter the widespread adoption phase. We talked to Naoki FUNAOKA from the Transportation Planning Dept., Social Innovation Div., Akira MITSUYASU from the Mobility DX Sec., DX Business Promotion Dept., Digital Service Div., Ryotaro TOMINAGA from the Transportation Strategy Sec., Social Innovation Div. of Chubu, and Daichi NAKAYAMA from the Transportation Policy Sec., Social Innovation Div. of Hokkaido, PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, who have all conducted numerous demonstration experiments tailored to local traffic conditions, about the current state and challenges of road-vehicle collaborative systems.