LAB LOGA page on LabLog, a review site (not the lab's official page)
Furumura Lab
Machine-translated · View original
The lab studies the strong shaking and tsunami caused by earthquakes through observational data and simulation.
AboutAbout the lab
Reproducing earthquake shaking to prepare for future shaking
The Furumura Lab studies how the strong shaking of great earthquakes is generated and how it travels through the Earth.
The lab analyzes data from Japan's dense seismic observation networks, as well as seismic wave records from around the world.
Using numerical simulations on supercomputers, it reproduces the characteristics of seismic waves traveling through complex underground structures.
The lab reproduces the shaking of past great earthquakes to identify the causes of damage, and predicts the shaking and tsunami of future great earthquakes, with the aim of contributing to earthquake disaster prevention.
Key terms
- Long-period ground motion
- Slow shaking with periods of several seconds or longer that lasts for a long time. It is amplified in plains covered by thick sedimentary layers and shakes skyscrapers and other tall structures.
- Data assimilation
- A method that continually corrects the state inside a simulation to match observational data and then makes predictions from it. It is based on the same idea as weather forecasting.
- Anomalous seismic intensity region
- A phenomenon in which, during a deep earthquake, areas far from the epicenter shake more strongly than the area directly above it.
NewsLab news
A doctoral student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award at the Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2026
A doctoral student received the GJI Student Author Award
Prof. Furumura received the Prime Minister's Commendation for Persons of Merit in Disaster Prevention (2025)
A master's student received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award from the Seismological Society of Japan
ResearchResearch themes
The lab combines the analysis of seismic wave records with numerical simulations on supercomputers. It aims to understand how the strong shaking of great earthquakes is generated and to predict future shaking and tsunami.
*Illustrative imageInstantly predicting earthquake shaking
The lab uses deep learning to predict the waveforms of long-period ground motion in cities from seismic waveforms observed near the epicenter. It is also working on predicting how shaking will spread before the actual shaking arrives, using data assimilation and high-speed computation.
*Illustrative imageHow long-period ground motion is generated and propagates
The lab investigates why shaking with periods of several seconds or longer becomes strong and lasts a long time in plains covered by thick sedimentary layers, such as the Kanto Plain. This shaking can resonate with skyscrapers and large oil storage tanks and may cause damage.
*Illustrative imagePredicting shaking and tsunami from Nankai Trough earthquakes
Great earthquakes occur along the Nankai Trough at intervals of 100 to 150 years. The lab reproduces the strong shaking and tsunami of past Nankai Trough earthquakes to investigate the causes of damage, and uses this to predict the shaking and tsunami of future earthquakes.
*Illustrative imageStrong shaking far from the source of deep earthquakes
In deep earthquakes associated with the subduction of the Pacific Plate, anomalous seismic intensity regions are observed, where shaking is strong on the Pacific side from Hokkaido to Kanto, far from the epicenter. The lab investigates the mechanism by studying seismic waves traveling through the heterogeneous crust and plate.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Furumura Lab are faculty, visiting researchers, and doctoral and master's students.As of 2025
- ProfessorTakashi FurumuraPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
Ratings and reviews reflect the experiences of individual current or former students, not the lab's official views. Whether a lab has reviews, or how many, says nothing about the lab itself.
Students who take part in an interview may receive a thank-you gift worth ¥1,000, regardless of what they say.
Student ratings (0 students)
--
--
--
--
--
--
Student voices answer questions like these
- What's great about this lab?
- What did you learn after joining?
- What's the vibe, and what is the professor like?
- Who is this lab for?
- Where do graduates go?
Your experience can help younger students choose their lab. Your name won't be shown.
Write a lab reviewAnonymous · Your draft is saved if you stopRelatedLabs similar to Furumura Lab
Watada Lab (Earth and Planetary Dynamics)Faculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsSeismology, tsunami
Miyake Lab (Earthquake Research Institute, Division of Earthquake and Volcano Disaster Research)Faculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsStrong-motion seismology (natural disaster science, earthqua…
Kano LabFaculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsSeismology and historical disaster science (historical earth…
Ishiyama LabFaculty of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary PhysicsTectonic geomorphology, active tectonics, and applied geophy…The information on this page is compiled by the LabLog team from the lab's public information and interviews. For corrections or removal requests, please contact LabLog, not the lab.
Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Skyscrapers of Nishi Shinjuku over Kanda River from Nakano, Tokyo, Japan, 2024 May” Ximonic (Simo Räsänen) / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Instantly predicting earthquake shaking: “Seismogram at Weston Observatory” Z22 / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- How long-period ground motion is generated and propagates: “Oil tank fire in Tomakomai caused by the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake” 総務省消防庁 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Predicting shaking and tsunami from Nankai Trough earthquakes: “Nankai trough topographic” Peka / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Strong shaking far from the source of deep earthquakes: “Kuril Benioff zone” USGS / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Watada Lab (Earth and Planetary Dynamics)): “SWOT Satellite Measures Pacific Tsunami (PIA26652)” NASA/JPL-Caltech / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Miyake Lab (Earthquake Research Institute, Division of Earthquake and Volcano Disaster Research)): “Aso house damaged by the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake 2” hanonimas / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Kano Lab): “Kawaraban-of-1855-Ansei-Edo-earthquake” A news broadsheet “Kawaraban”, 1855 / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Ishiyama Lab): “Arakura Fault of the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line” Sakaori (talk) / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
About LabLog
LabLog is a lab review app for students only. Student members at each university interview students in labs and publish what they say. Student voices can only be read by students who sign up with a university email address. Operated by bestiee Inc.
Learn more about LabLog ↗Search engines and AI may reference the basic lab info and rating summaries on this page and the description of LabLog. Student voices are for student members only. Automated collection by programs (scraping, or input to or training of AI) is prohibited under Article 8 of the Terms of Service. If you need data for research or analysis, please contact us.