Yokohama wins major geoscience event

Yokohama has been chosen as the site for the 2019 IEEE InternationalGeoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Last held in Tokyo in 1993, the conference returns to Japan after a 26 year hiatus. The IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS) is responsible for organising the event and the local host will be the IEEE GRSS All Japan Chapter. In addition to the annual IGARSS discussion of remote sensing and geoscience in general, the 2019 conference theme will be “Environment and Disasters.” According to University of Tokyo Professor, Akira Hirose (general chair of IGARSS 2019), one main reason Japan was chosen as host country was the launch of JAXA’s highly regarded advanced land observing satellite called “Daichi#2” (or ALOS-2). In May of 2014. Japan’s presence in the field of remote sensing was highlighted by this event. The success of that program was the result of the strength of Japanese electronics and aerospace firms. “The city of Yokohama was primarily chosen because of the presence of many major electronics and aerospace firms such as Mitsubishi Electric Corp., NEC, Toshiba, Mitsubishi Space Software Co., etc and also research institutes like JAXA-ISAS in the area. With the groundwork set for a multitude of research partnerships in place, both Japan and the city of Yokohama itself have proven on the world stage that they are at the forefront of this science and technology and will continue to be so in the future,” continues Professor Hirose. The symposium, which will be held at the PACIFICO Yokohama over six days in July of 2019, will attract an estimated 1,400 delegates.