Last Updated : December 28, 2017

Bulletin of the GSI (Vol.65)

Akira SASAGAWA, Yasushi AKUI, Akiko MUNEKANE, Maya UEDA and Toru NAGAYAMA

Abstract
    The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) played a central role in the Global Mapping Project as the secretariat of the International Steering Committee for Global Mapping (ISCGM) since its establishment in 1996. At the 23rd meeting of the ISCGM in 2016, the resolution for the termination of ISCGM in March 2017 was adopted. As a result, in March 2017, the GSI’s commitment to the Global Mapping Project was completed.
   The authors describe various activities and milestone events that occurred during the two decades of the Project and summarize the results of the Project.

Katsuhiro NAGATA , Takayuki ISHIZEKI, Yuichi UCHIYAMA, Akihiro IKEDA, Kenichi YOSHIDA, Isao UEDA and Takehiko UMINO

Abstract
     Based on the Basic Act on the Advancement of Utilizing Geospatial Information (AUGI), the third Basic Plan for AUGI was established on March 24, 2017 by a Cabinet decision.
   Under the first and second Basic Plans for AUGI, the government developed Japan’s own positioning bases by Fundamental Geospatial Data (FGD) and the first quasi-zenith satellite “Michibiki”. The third Basic Plan for AUGI aims to solve social issues as well as to create new industries and services through the advanced utilization of more accurate and high value-added geospatial information by these positioning bases in line with technological innovations such as IoT, big data and AI.
   In order to strategically promote initiatives for utilizing geospatial information, the third Basic Plan for AUGI selected policies and measures to be prioritized as “Symbol Projects”, and represented such projects and businesses in a more tangible way to accelerate them.
   The third Basic Plan for AUGI aims to realize a new society of the world’s highest level, known as an “advanced geospatial information utilization society”, in which geospatial information is effectively used in a wide range of fields such as disaster prevention, transportation and logistics, living environment, regional revitalization, and technology export. The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan is helping to create such a society by developing FGD and the Digital Japan Basic Map, as well as a mechanism for ensuring precise mutual compatibility of positions between FGD and highly accurate three-dimensional geospatial information.

Hiromichi TSUJI, Yuki HATANAKA, Yohei HIYAMA, Kazunori YAMAGUCHI, Tomoaki FURUYA, Satoshi KAWAMOTO and Yoshihiro FUKUZAKI

Abstract
     The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) started installing permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) stations in 1994. The initial number was 210, which increased to 610 in 1996 and 1,200 in 2003. As of April 1, 2017, a total of 1,318 Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) had been installed by the GSI. The receiving and analysis systems were upgraded in 2010 to expand the function to receive other Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals. This network is now called GEONET (GNSS Earth Observation NETwork system), and is one of the largest CORS networks in the world. It is not only a tool for precise surveying, detection of crustal deformation, and research on earthquakes and volcanoes, but is also an infrastructure for precise positioning of automated vehicles, weather forecasting, and more. We report on the history of GEONET and the results obtained during its 20 years of successful operation.