Yusaku Ohta, Representative of the Consortium to utilize the SoftBank original reference sites for Earth and Space Science (CSESS) and Professor at the Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, has received the 2026 Prime Minister’s Award for Distinguished Contributions to Disaster Prevention.
Prof. Ohta specializes in crustal deformation analysis using GNSS observations and has contributed to the rapid characterization of major earthquakes and tsunami hazards, as well as to enhanced monitoring of earthquake and volcanic activity.
He has advanced the development of the real-time GNSS analysis system REGARD in collaboration with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), while also promoting the use of SoftBank original reference site data for Earth science and disaster prevention through CSESS. This award recognized his contributions to building a new monitoring and disaster-analysis framework that integrates Japan’s national observation network with a high-density private-sector GNSS network.
Although the award was presented to Prof. Ohta individually, we regard it as recognition of the sustained efforts of the entire CSESS community. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all participating institutions and colleagues for their continued support and collaboration.
Related Information
For more details about the award, please visit the Cabinet Office “Disaster Management in Japan” website.
▶ Recipients of the 2026 Prime Minister’s Commendation for Disaster Prevention
