Overview of the Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program II

The Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program II is a nationwide collaborative research program on earthquakes and volcanic eruptions conducted with the cooperation of universities, national research institutes, and government agencies throughout Japan. This program originated from two independent prediction programs initiated in the ‘60s and ‘70s to respond to disasters caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, respectively. These prediction programs were originally aimed at predicting the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions based on precursor phenomena. Subsequently, both programs have shifted their focus to understanding the mechanisms and forecasting activities based on observational data and models. Given their many similarities in research infrastructure, the two programs were integrated in 2009. Since the 2011 off the Pacific coast of Tohoku earthquake, the integrated program has further shifted to contributing to the mitigation of disasters caused by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions based on interdisciplinary research in the fields of disaster science, including not only seismology and volcanology, but also engineering, humanities, and social sciences. The research program introduced in this review was implemented for five years, from 2019 to 2023. A new research field that contributes to improving literacy for disaster resilience and an integrated research framework have been added to this program. This study summarizes the basic concept, results, and future challenges of this research program.