What does the Japan Meteorological Agency do?

The Japan Meteorological Agency is an independent organ of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism responsible for scientific observation and public forecasting. It collects data across meteorology, seismology, volcanology, and hydrology, while issuing vital warnings for natural disasters like typhoons and earthquakes. As a designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Center, it also tracks and names tropical cyclones in the northwestern Pacific region.

What we know

• The Japan Meteorological Agency is an independent organ of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the observation and research of natural phenomena. [1, 2]
• The agency is integral to the nationwide Earthquake Early Warning system and issues warnings for volcanic eruptions. [2]
• The JMA serves as a Regional Specialized Meteorological Center tasked with forecasting, naming, and distributing warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northwestern Pacific. [2, 4]
• Earthquake ground shaking intensity in Japan is categorized using the JMA seismic intensity scale, derived from 4,400 observation stations. [3]

Where to go next

• how it workedHow does the Shindo seismic scale measure shaking intensity?
• the bigger pictureMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
• a case in pointWhat happens during a Pacific typhoon season?
• compared withHow does the JMA magnitude scale differ from the Shindo scale?
• how we knowWorld Meteorological Organization
• an unexpected connectionHow do tropical cyclone naming systems overlap between agencies?Although the Japan Meteorological Agency names tropical cyclones for the entire northwestern Pacific, other regional bodies like PAGASA also assign their own names to storms entering specific local areas of responsibility.

Sources

• [1]Japan Meteorological Agency (Wikidata Q860935) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Japan Meteorological Agency · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Japan Meteorological Agency seismic intensity scale · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]2026 Pacific typhoon season · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Japan Meteorological Agency magnitude scale · CC BY-SA 4.0

Your path

1. What is seismology and how do we study earthquakes?
2. /What are corporate mergers and acquisitions?
3. /What was Hellenistic Judaism in Alexandria?
4. /What does the Japan Meteorological Agency do?