Beneath the Great Wave.

Ayako Tsuchiyama

土山絢子

PhD candidate, Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, MIT.

Ayako's academic path includes a BS and MS from Tokyo Institute of Technology, a visiting research stay at UC Berkeley, and her current PhD work at MIT. Her master's research studied source mechanisms of deep earthquakes in Japan (Tsuchiyama and Nakajima, 2021, PEPI); at MIT, she studies mechanisms of the intermediate-depth earthquake nest in Colombia.

Kota Konishi

古西航大

Assistant manager, Central Japan Railway Company; MIT System Design and Management.

Kota has spent about six years at Central Japan Railway Company (JR Central), working on Shinkansen rolling stock maintenance and the implementation and management of rolling stock inspection facilities. He has also joined a project supporting the introduction of new rolling stock for Taiwan High Speed Rail. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in MIT System Design and Management (SDM), where he studies the design and management of complex socio-technical systems. After graduation, he plans to work on systems design for Shinkansen rolling stock.

Yo Kanno

菅野洋

Japan Meteorological Agency, Seismology and Volcanology Department.

Kenji Takahashi

髙橋謙司

Secretary General for Regional Revitalization, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan; former Director-General for Disaster Management, Cabinet Office.

Originally from Aichi Prefecture, Takahashi graduated from Kyoto University's Faculty of Law and joined the Ministry of Construction in 1991. His public service career includes senior roles at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the Prime Minister's Office, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and the Cabinet Office, including Director-General for Disaster Management. Since July 2025, he has served as Secretary General for Regional Revitalization, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.