Progress in Paleoseismology in Japan during the 1990s

摘要

We review progress of geological and geomorphological approaches in paleoseismo- logy in Japan during the this decade. We emphasize the growth of active fault studies since the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Two examples of intensive trenching studies, one on the Itoshizu-Tectonic Line in central Japan, and the other on the Miura Peninsula south of Tokyo, are briefly discussed with special reference to fault segmentation and the probability of large earthquakes. Studies of coastal morphol- ogy and deposits which are used for the reconstruction of paleoearthquakes are also reviewed. Japanese scientists have contributed much to paleoseismological studies overseas through collaborative international projects including identification of coseismic uplift, subsidence and tsunami deposits along the Pacific coasts as well as studies of inland faults.