This open access book presents the latest Japanese research for the projection of climate change impacts and the evaluation of adaptation policies, with a particular focus on the S-18 Project – a nationwide, interdisciplinary research initiative involving experts from various fields. The S-18 project aimed to explore how best to respond to the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. To ensure that the research outcomes could be effectively linked to adaptation measures, the project aimed to provide both short-term and long-term policy guidance to support the initiatives of national and local governments, as well as the private sector.
Readers can get a comprehensive view of the latest knowledge and strategies to combat climate change impacts in Japan. The topics span the research framework and future scenarios for climatic and socio-economic changes, and impacts and adaptation measures in major sectors at both national and local levels. Target sectors include agriculture, forestry and fisheries, natural ecosystems, natural disasters and coastal zones, water resources, urban infrastructure, and transportation, quality of life and human health, and economic analysis of the impacts.
The book features high-resolution spatial distribution of impacts, changes in vulnerability with localities, effects of mitigation and adaptation measures, and implications of climate change policies on society. As the world experiences increased extreme weather events, this comprehensive book is a timely reference for similar studies in other countries through the presentation of research results and lessons obtained in Japan. Researchers, policymakers, and academics in environmental science, climate policy, and related fields will find this book invaluable for understanding and addressing the multifaceted challenges of climate change adaptation and mitigation.
Some chapters were written originally in Japanese. The English translation was facilitated by artificial intelligence. The authors later revised the content for accuracy.
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Editors
Dr. Nobuo Mimura is a Professor Emeritus at Ibaraki University and a Specially Appointed Professor at the university’s Global and Local Environment Co-creation Institute. His research areas are global environmental engineering and coastal engineering. For over 30 years, he has been deeply involved in studies on the assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation in Japan, Asia, and small island countries in the South Pacific. His work has highlighted the unique risks of the impacts in these countries and the role of adaptive actions.
He also served as Lead Author, Coordinating Lead Author, and Review Editor for the second to sixth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He has also contributed as an advisor to several Ministries of the Japanese Government as well as international bodies such as the World Bank. He has lead a strategic research project, S-18 “Comprehensive Research on Projection of Climate Change Impacts and Evaluation of Adaptation”, funded by the Ministry of Environment of Japan and the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency from 2020 to 2025.
Dr. Satoshi Takewaka is a Professor at the University of Tsukuba. His research interests are coastal engineering and remote sensing. He analyzes long-term trends of sandy beach deformations due to waves, currents, and climate change. He has experience in two governmental research projects on climate change issues and was an editor and author of project book publications. In the S-18 project, he collaborates with Professor Mimura and publicizes the research project and results.
More information:
Editors: Nobuo Mimura and Satoshi Takewaka
Book Title: ‘Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Strategies in Japan’
Publisher: Springer Singapore (2025) | 25chapters, 359p. | Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-96-2435-5
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-96-2436-2
Download (.pdf): https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-96-2436-2
Download (.epub): https://link.springer.com/download/epub/10.1007/978-981-96-2436-2
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by Ibaraki University
Featured image credit: jcomp | Freepik
