Outreach and Education with a Concurrent Movie ‘Sinking of Japan’

1. Outreach and Education with a Concurrent Movie ‘Sinking of Japan’ Koshun Yamaoka , Hiromichi Tsuji Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo and Keiji Doi Japan Meteorological Agency

2. ABSTRACT In the summer of 2006, the Japanese movie Sinking of Japan(Nihon Chinbotsu) was released as a remake of the original movie in 33 years ago. The movie, based on the very popular SF novel of the same title, shows human action in the helpless crisis of Japan that is rapidly sinking into sea. We are asked to check the scientific aspect of the movie and accepted their offer in the following reasons. The original novel and movie in 33 years ago was very popular and more than 400 copies of the book are sold and about 6.5 million people went to theaters to see the movie. Therefore, the new movie was easily expected to get a big hit and we will have a rare opportunity to get a public interest to earth science. During the first run of the movie we operated Q&A for the earth science of Sinking of Japan on the web site of Earthquake Research Institute (ERI), University of Tokyo. The web site is linked to the official site of the movie, and major Japanese newspapers wrote about the Q&A as an interesting action of ERI. Due to the efficient advertisement, more than 300 questions are submitted and more than 120 answers are listed on the web. More than 1,000,000 hits are counted to the site, showing wide range of interest to this topic. Questions to be answered are selected so as to attract much interest not only to earth science but to the story of the movie itself to keep fun for the readers.

3. What is ‘Sinking of Japan’ Original novel is published in 1973,written by Sakyo Komatsu, famous SF writer. It describes the destiny of Japanese nation when their homeland suddenly disappears by natural phenomena. More than four million copies are sold. A movie was created and shown on theaters in 1973. 10% of Japanese people went to theaters to see it. One-hour TV program lasted half-year (26 programs), in which major cities are devastated by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. People learned plate tectonics and mantle convection with the novel. Some young guys decided to study seismology being stimulated by the novel. 1973 1973 New movie was created in 2006, leaded by a young director, who has also decided to be a movie director when he saw the original movie. Four million people went to theaters. 2006

4. STORY One day in near future, Japan is hit by a big earthquake and successive volcanic eruption in Tokai district, the Pacific coast in the central part of Japan. Dr. Eugene Cocks, a member of American Geodetic Society, visits Japanese government to tell that Japanese archipelago will sink into the ocean within 30 years. Sudden collapse of megalith, the subducted plate stagnating around upper- and lower-mantle boundary, pulls the Japanese islands into the deep trench. Dr. Tadokoro, professor of Earthquake Research Institute of University of Toto, starts to verify Dr. Cocks’ hypothesis. After intensive field surveys and computer simulations he finds that Japan has only one year before complete sinking. Receiving the shocking results, the government takes an action to evacuate all the nation from Japanese islands. The prime minister Yamamoto negotiates with many countries to accept Japanese nations to their countries, but dies in a plane crush by a catastrophic eruption of Aso volcano. Ms. Saori Takamori, minister of education, science and technology, follows Yamamoto’s will to evacuate as many Japanese as possible. But the sinking rate is too rapid and she cannot help admitting that more than a half of the Japanese people will sink with Japanese islands. Saori visits Prof. Tadokoro, a divorces husband, to ask for any good idea to save Japanese people even if it can save only one more. Tadokoro, gives a surprising idea to stop Japanese islands from sinking by cutting the plate on which Japanese islands resides and isolate them form the megalith. Many deep-see drilling vessels including Chikyu are gathered to drill holes for powerful N2-bombs. The project is almost successful before putting the last bomb into a drill-hole, which needs to be made by a research submersible. Wadatsumi 6500 (Shinkai 6500 in real name) gets the mission but fails and crushes due to unexpected turbidity current. Mr. Onodera, young and talented submersible pilot, volunteers for never-to-return mission with old Wadatsumi 2000…..

5. Q&A for the science for Sinking of Japan Send questions subject body name http://www.eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp/filmnc06/eri_qa.html Upload answers

6. Number of visiters to our website More than 130,000 visiters, and 1,000,000 hits.

7. Number of visiters to our website(Log scale) Asahi Newspaper Mainichi NP. 2nd weekend Yomiuri NP ? Release Yomiuri NP Yomiuri NP Weekly variation! Fewer access in holidays Showing in theaters

8. Questions and Answers Mainichi NP. Asahi Newspaper Yomiuri NP 120 answers for 300 questions 2nd weekend Release ? Yomiuri NP Yomiuri NP Showing in theaters

9. To categorize the questions (1) • About the Screenplay • Does Dr. Tadokoro really working at ERI, University of Tokyo? → No. • What is N2 Bomb? → N2 bomb originally appeared in a comic. • Why did they use old submersible Wadatsumi 2000 instead of better one that can be chartered from other countries ? → The director wanted to use the retired one, Wadatsumi 2000. Wadatsumi 2000 in the movie real Shinkai 2000 (JAMSTEC)

10. To categorize the questions (2) • About Earth Sciences • Why does the earth’s core produce such a heat after 4.6 billion years of its birth ? → Unresolved. Latent heat and collapse of radioactive elements might produce heat. • How do you know about the interior of the earth, even if we cannot get the sample directory? → Geophysical observation and experimental studies revealed the state in the earth. • Does megalith really exist ? → Seismic Tomography has shown the image of megalith. Megalith Explanation in the movie Seismic Tomography

11. To categorize the questions (3) • About Natural Disasters and Reduction • How do we explain the difference between seismic intensity and magnitude as simple as possible? →How big you speak and how well they can hear you…. • Does tsunami always begin with ebbing tide? → No, sometimes it attacks beaches with flood tide. • What is the system showing an expanding circles in the movie just after the occurrence of earthquake? → It is early earthquake information system. Early earthquake information system in operation by JMA Early earthquake information system in the movie

12. To categorize the questions (other) • Cool questions • Does the friction due to rapid sinking of Japan cause large amount of heat to bake all of Japan? →The potential energy released by the sinking raises the temperature of the crust of about only 10 degrees in average. • Why don’t big earthquakes of magnitude 20 occur? → Due to the limitation of the size of the earth. • What happens on the other side of the earth when Japan sinks, bulging? → No. Nothing happens. Japan crust is floating on the mantle, which is similar to a block of ice floating on water. Water does not spill over even if one block of ice are cut into pieces. Japan sinks due to thinning by pulling force

13. Summary • We operated Q&A for the movie ‘Sinking of Japan (Nihon Chinbotsu)’. • More the 300 questions are submitted and 120 are answered. • Many questions on earthquake, volcanoes, earth sciences, disasters as well as movie itself are submitted. • More than 130,000 visitors and 1,000,000 hits to the website are recorded until now. • Major newspapers reported on our website, which is quite effective for promotion, although a link to the official site of the movie is basically effective. • Questions will be accepted until the end of FY2006 (31 March 2007) as the DVD will be released in January 2007.