Introduction
Disaster Prevention Research Institute Kyoto University(DPRI) was founded in Kyoto University in 1951,in 1996 the Institute reorganized itself into five research divisions and five research centers; namely, Integrated Management of Disaster Risk; Earthquake Disaster Prevention; Geo-Disasters; Fluvial and Marine Disasters; Atmospheric Disasters; Research Center for Disaster Environment; Research Center for Earthquake Prediction; Sakurajima Volcano Research Center; Water Resources Research Center; and Research Center for Disaster Reduction Systems. The institute has been pursuing principles of natural disaster reduction, establishing integrated methodologies for disaster prevention on the basis of natural and social sciences, and educating students in related fields. In 2010, DPRI was certified as a national Joint Usage/Research Center in Japan for performing various integrated research on natural disaster reduction and disaster prevention at local and global scales. DPRI will provide disaster reduction strategies to national and local governments.