Coastal Hazards

Japan being an island is no stranger to coastal hazards, in fact there a little hazards this resilient nation doesn't face, and like most islands in the pacific, Japan is struggling with the current rise in sea level which has massive ramifications for a country with a coastline that is almost 30,000 km long.

This rise in sea level for Japan is a huge threat as the majority of its land mass and population is coastal.  In a 1996 research paper titled “Responses of Coastal Topography to Rising Sea Levels,” climate scholars Nobuo Mimura and Eiichi Kawaguchi forecast that a 1-meter rise in sea levels would cause 90.3 percent of the country’s sand beaches to erode not only is the loss of coastline worrisome but it would also mean larger wave action hitting the shoreline and causing further damage.  A 1-meter rise in sea levels on the country’s coastline would be devastating to the economy, with almost 80 percent of the country’s commercial sales and roughly half of its population and industrial production located in coastal areas.

Not only is the rising sea level a problem but also erosion of Japan's shoreline is taking a toll on the country, As a result of the abnormal amount of man made coastal structures and alterations like dams, fishing and commercial ports the continuous sand that would usually make it way down to the beaches is now slower moving and trapped.

Osaka Prefectural Government "What Results From Global Warming?" http://www.pref.osaka.lg.jp/kannosuisoken/apec/results.html

Takaaki, Uda "Japan's Beach Erosion" Public works reaserch center, Japan.  Volume 31. (Pg. 228-243)  http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscibooks/10.1142/7332

Johannsson, Elena K.  Jul 12,2014. "Rising Tide: Long-term Ramifications of Global Warming on the Country's Coastline."  The Japan Times.    http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2014/07/12/environment/rising-tide-long-term-ramifications-global-warming-countrys-coastline/#.VUcNHPldVqU