Kumamoto Prefecture, Nishihara Village Community Revitalization Project

The Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016 was unprecedented in recorded history, with two magnitude 7 tremors occurring within 28 hours. Nishihara Village in Kumamoto Prefecture, located near the epicenter, suffered extensive damage. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS became involved early on in Nishihara Village's disaster recovery efforts, providing ongoing support for the regeneration of six settlements, focusing on both earthquake-resistant land development and urban planning. Shunichiro KANEKO of the Geotechnical Geotechnical Engineering Dept., Geotechnical Disaster Prevention Office Land Infrastructure Div. and Hiroto YAMAGUCHI of the Comprehensive Project Office, Social Innovation Business Division, Kyushu Headquarters, who played a central role in the project, reflected on their work.

Developing a passenger ship terminal to support Okinawa's tourism industry.

The number of cruise passengers from Asia surged in the latter half of the 2000s. However, at that time, Naha Port did not have a dedicated berth for cruise ships, and cargo berths were used for both. Fearing that this would inevitably damage the image of Okinawa's gateway, the government launched a project to develop a passenger ship terminal at Naha Port. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS was responsible for designing the new passenger ship berths, terminal facility site, and connecting road bridge, playing a major role in the realization of Naha Port's first passenger ship terminal (Naha Cruise Terminal). We spoke with Nobuo Suzuki of the Ports and Harbors Dept., Land Infrastructure Div. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS Consultants, who was in charge of the design.

Narita Airport's Further Functional Enhancement Project Vol. 1

This is the first large-scale "Further Functional Enhancement Project" for Narita Airport since 1978. For over 10 years, PACIFIC CONSULTANTS has been involved in a wide range of tasks, including environmental assessment surveys and surveys, planning, and design related to infrastructure development. Currently, more than 100 people from various technical fields, mainly from Aviation Dept., are participating in the project team. We spoke with the team's General Project Manager, Kiyotsugu Nagai, along with Naoto Futamata and Mifuyu Kurosaki from Aviation Dept., Hiroyuki Nagai from Tunnel Dept., Yoshio Namiki from the Watershed Planning Department, Tomoki Sakata from Road & Highway Dept., and Shunichiro Kaneko from Geotechnical Engineering Dept..

Basic Knowledge of CCS Plants and the Role of Construction Consultants

One technology that is currently attracting significant attention as Japan aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 is CCS, which involves capturing and storing CO2. CCS is an extremely important technology, especially for industries where decarbonization is considered very difficult, such as thermal power plants and steel mills, and is said to be a key to achieving carbon neutrality in Japan. We talked to Toyomitsu KANAI from Facility Engineering Dept., Transportation Infrastructure Div. at PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, who is working on CCS projects.

What is area management?

The term "area management" is by no means new. The government spoke of the need for such initiatives nearly 20 years ago, in 2008. Even before that, they had been considering central urban area revitalization, town management, and new roles for regional management. And now, the role that regions must play is becoming increasingly important, and there is a demand for comprehensive improvement of urban capabilities that encompass elements such as disaster prevention, decarbonization, and biodiversity. What does modern area management entail? We spoke with Daisaku TANAKA, General Manager of the Business Design Department, Solution Business Division PACIFIC CONSULTANTS, and Sayaka YAMAMOTO, Project Manager, who are working on various social experiments.

Working as a Private Sector's Engineers Team to Quickly Complete the "Kamaishi-Yamada Road"

The Sanriku Coastal Road (Sanriku Road), which runs along the coast of the Tohoku region and connects Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, and Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture, had been under construction before the earthquake, but only a portion of it was open. National Route 45, which also runs along the coast, suffered extensive damage in various parts from the Tsunami. The early reopening of the Sanriku Road was essential for the restoration from the earthquake. In order to advance this project at the exceptional speed of approximately 10 years, the government introduced a PPP to expedite the project, a first in the country. PACIFIC CONSULTANTS was awarded the contract for this work in the Kamaishi-Yamada construction section, making a significant contribution to the early completion of the road. Four people who played a central role in the project - Amane TOMATSU from the Structural Sec., Tohoku Transportation Infrastructure Dept. of the Tohoku Branch Office, Osamu YAMAKAGE, Masato SHIRAISHI, and Tomohiro OYAMA from the Roads Sec. of the same department - look back on that time.

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.