Hirokazu Kobayashi
CEO, Green Insight Japan, Inc.
Professor Emeritus and Visiting Professor, University of Shizuoka
Suntory's "Iemon," Ito En's "Oi Ocha," and Kirin Beverage's "Kirin Namacha" are among Japan's most popular bottled green teas. Before the launch of these teas, a survey of consumer preferences and reactions, a "taste test," is often conducted in Shizuoka Prefecture. Shizuoka Prefecture has mountains, rivers, and seas, and its average annual income is in the middle of the country. Shizuoka Prefecture is also a strategic point connecting east and west and was home to 22 of the 53 stations on the Tokaido Highway during the Edo period. In other words, it has been influenced by both Eastern and Western cultures. That is, Shizuoka Prefecture is close to the national market. In addition, the prefecture's passive climate is suitable for market research.
Here are some examples of unfortunate events in Shizuoka Prefecture that have since led to a review of regulations: On July 11, 1979, at approximately 6:40 p.m., a multiple collision occurred in the Nihonzaka tunnel on the downbound of Tomei Expressway, causing a vehicle fire. Four people were killed instantly in the crash, three were burned to death when they could not escape from their car, and two were injured. A total of 173 vehicles were involved in the tunnel fire, and it took approximately 65 hours to extinguish it. The accident took two months to recover from fully. The accident significantly impacted the lives of the Japanese people, including the shutdown of automobile production lines due to shortages of parts and materials, the disruption of garbage collection and mail delivery services, scarcity of vegetables and fish, and further price increases. Seventy percent of the 173 vehicles destroyed by the fire, and 127 trucks had license plates covering almost all of Japan except the Tohoku region. The burnt cargo included materials and products from all industries, including auto parts, agricultural products, metal materials, rubber, paper rolls, marine products, and soft drinks, reflecting the social role played by the Tomei Expressway. The Meishin Expressway, a symbol of Japan's post-war economic recovery, was fully opened in 1965, followed by the Tomei Expressway in 1969. These two iconic routes, now referred to as “E1: Expressway 1,” are significant logistics arteries connecting the east and west sides of the Pacific Ocean. The issue we are addressing was raised in the 10th year after the complete opening of this historic E1 highway.
This incident is known as the "Nihonzaka Tunnel Fire Accident," the fire extinguishing equipment and ventilation systems in tunnels throughout Japan have been improved based on the lessons learned from this incident. A "70 km/h (44 mi/h)" speed limit and lane-changing prohibitions were introduced in long tunnels. Since many vehicles entering the tunnels were unaware of the accident and were involved in the damage, tunnel signals, and information boards were improved and applied to all tunnels longer than 5 km nationwide. In 1998, a new three-lane downbound tunnel was built, and the downbound tunnel where the accident occurred was converted to an upbound tunnel. Around 2000, I encountered a falling metal pillar about 2 meters long while passing through the tunnel where the accident occurred. However, considering the surrounding vehicles, it was rather dangerous to slow down or avoid it, and I had no choice but to plunge forward. As a result, my head hit the ceiling of the car, and the wheel cover was damaged, but not seriously. Due to flat tires, several cars were stuck in the waiting area after exiting the tunnel. Thinking that this was the curse of the "Nihonzaka Tunnel Fire Accident," I have avoided the tunnel where the accident occurred ever since.
On August 16, 1980, at 9:31 a.m., an explosion occurred in a sushi restaurant in the basement of the Shizuoka Daiichi Building, located in the "Golden Underground Mall" on the north side of Shizuoka Station of Japan National Railways (now JR Tokai), when gas ignited. The sushi restaurant floor and a machine room in the back of the building were severely damaged, but the explosion did not cause a fire. However, the blast damaged a city gas pipe, and leaking city gas from the pipe reached the upper floors of the Shizuoka Daiichi Building from the underground mall. This triggered a second explosion at 9:56 a.m. The blast caused extensive damage to 163 stores within a 100-meter (109-yard) radius, including the Seibu Shizuoka Department Store (now Shizuoka Parco) across the street, adjacent stores, and other residential buildings, shattering glass and damaging walls, killing 15 people and injuring 223. Due to safety standards at the time, no shut-off valves were installed on the gas pipes inside the buildings, and the maintenance holes were piled high with debris from the explosion, making it difficult to shut them off. This is known as the "Shizuoka Station Underground Mall Explosion.” As a result, the Fire Protection Law Enforcement Order was revised in 1981, and installing emergency gas shut-off devices and gas leak alarms became a legal requirement. In addition, the construction of new underground shopping malls was not permitted until "Kawasaki Azalea" in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture, which opened in 1986. An underground shopping mall was planned in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, but the plan was canceled due to stricter safety standards for underground shopping malls.
Because the primary explosion triggered a secondary explosion that caused extensive damage, the cause of the primary explosion was investigated. The "city gas theory" suggested that a city gas leak caused the primary explosion. In contrast, the "underground methane theory" suggested that methane gas was produced by the decomposition of organic matter accumulated in an underground water source over a long period. On March 14, 1996, the Shizuoka District Court ruled that the primary explosion was caused by the ignition of flammable gases, such as methane gas, that had been generated and remained in the underground water tank. The Pacific side of Japan west of Shizuoka Prefecture comprises an "accretionary wedge" formed when subducting oceanic plates accreted onto the sides of continental plates and were subsequently uplifted. The accretionary wedge is a thick sedimentary layer more than 10 km deep and rich in organic matter. Hydrogen-producing fermentative bacteria, which break down organic matter to produce H₂ and CO₂, and hydrogenotrophic methanogenic bacteria, which produce methane from H₂ and CO₂, coexist in the accretionary wedge. As a result, methane is produced in the deep aquifer of the accretionary wedge. The methane gas that caused the primary explosion might be part of this.
On July 3, 2021, at 10:28 a.m., the Atami City Fire Department responded to a report that a landslide had swept away a private house. While the road was covered with mud and sand and the fire brigade members could not reach the scene, a massive mudslide occurred. The mudslide flowed down the Aizome River in a southeasterly direction for about 1 km to the sea. It damaged 131 houses and caused 28 deaths, including one disaster-related death. This disaster is called the "2021 Atami Landslide.” In response, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) inspected landfill sites in Japan comprehensively. As a result, 1,089 locations were found to be inadequate. On March 1, 2022, the Japanese government approved the "Bill to Amend Part of the Act on Regulation of Residential Land Development, etc." at a Cabinet meeting. The "Act on Regulation of Residential Land Development and Specified Embankment, etc." made embankments subject to prefectural governors' approval and imposed fines and imprisonment penalties. This law was submitted to both houses of the Diet on May 29, passed by both houses, and enacted on May 20, 2022. It was promulgated on May 27 of the same year and became effective on May 27, 2023.
The Akaishi Mountains (Southern Alps) and Mt. Fuji, which rise north of Shizuoka Prefecture, block northerly winds in winter and bring a mild climate to the central-eastern part of Shizuoka Prefecture. In summer, southerly winds from typhoons and stagnant fronts bring heavy rain from the Pacific Ocean by bumping into the mountains. In addition to the 2021 Atami Landslide, the area was also hit by the Tanabata Heavy Rainstorm (July 7-8, 1974), which inundated 26,452 houses above floor level and 54,092 houses below floor level, killing 44 people and injuring 241 others. More recently, Typhoon No. 15 flooded the area on September 23-24, 2022. This year, Typhoon No. 7 on August 16 and Typhoon No. 10 on August 30 shut down the Tokaido Shinkansen and the Tokaido Main Line. In addition, the Tomei Expressway and the New Tomei Expressway were closed to traffic, severely affecting logistics and the movement of people.
The Japanese archipelago separated from the Eurasian continent about 20 million years ago. Since then, there has been a struggle between the Eurasian plate, the Philippine Sea plate, the North American plate, and the Pacific plate. Shizuoka Prefecture, located at the collision point of three of these plates, is not just a geographical location but a strategic point for transportation between East and West. Its unique position and the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate have significant implications for the region's geological and environmental factors and, consequently, its transportation and logistics.
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