Director's Message
The polar regions have a great significance in terms of research relating to the earth, the environment, life, space and other fields. NIPR is opening up new frontiers in interdisciplinary research through cutting-edge studies in collaboration with the researcher community under the framework of the Transdisciplinary Research Integration Center (TRIC) at ROIS and various other inter-university research programs.
NIPR participates in joint research projects at Syowa and Dome Fuji Stations in the Antarctic and Ny-Ålesund Station in the Arctic, and also conducts field, marine, aircraft and satellite observations. Advanced studies are performed by examining the polar regions as subsystems of the earth, time capsules of the global environment and windows into space, and from the perspective of biodiversity.
Japan’s Antarctic research activities began during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) from 1957 to 1958. Over the past 50-odd years, the activities have been growing in scale, content and complexity, and have taken on greater international characteristics. NIPR is now a key player in global observations, participating actively in the programs of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the Asian Forum for Polar Sciences (AFoPS) and other international frameworks. Furthermore, it uses the Intelsat satellite communication system to promote telescience, telemedicine and outreach activities for school and college students.
Training new researchers is also a major task of the institute. As a parent institute of the Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), NIPR accommodates graduate students in the Department of Polar Science, School of Multidisciplinary Sciences and is involved in fostering promising researchers with high-level research capabilities and skills for field science.
NIPR relocated its laboratory to Tachikawa, Tokyo in May 2009 and will commission a new Antarctic research vessel in November. We hope that these changes will enhance further advancement of our scientific achievement, and ask for your support and cooperation in our activities.
Yoshiyuki FUJII
Director-General, National Institute of Polar Research
