Nipponica

In the meantime, determining a tsunami’s arrival time on shore could still prove to be an essential part of tsunami warning systems, given the density of the cable network in the Pacific Ocean.

“Optical fiber cable is everywhere offshore,” Aoki says, while noting that the network is far less developed on the Sea of Japan side given political sensitivities with Japan’s neighbors. “Using optical cable is a promising tool to quickly understand the arrival time of tsunami.”

This is a very innovative idea to leverage existing data infrastructure to dramatically increase seismic tracking. Also an interesting history of the current system of seismographs that power Japan's earthquake & tsunami early warning system.

According to Fujishiro Shrine, located in the Wakayama Prefecture city of Kainan, a family named "Suzuki" moved from the Kumano region in the south Kii Peninsula to Fujishiro (present-day Kainan) around the late Heian period (794-1185), and from their base there, they spread the Kumamo faith centering on the three grand shrines of Kumano.

Sounds like an interesting visit to celebrate all the Suzukis in your life.

Heavy rain battered wide areas of Japan on Tuesday, disrupting bullet train services between Tokyo and Osaka and prompting the weather agency to urge caution for landslides and floods.