4 Frequently Asked Questions

■General

Q. I would like to know how the Great East Japan Earthquake Archive (HINAGIKU) was created.

A. Please refer to the section "Chronology (History)".

Q. Is the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications also involved in the operation of HINAGIKU?

A. HINAGIKU was conceived, created, and launched by the NDL in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, but as of the end of FY2012, the Development Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has been transferred to the NDL, which currently manages HINAGIKU on its own.

■Operating environments

Q. Please tell me what operating environment I need to use HINAGIKU.

A. We recommend using the latest versions of Firefox or Google Chrome.

■Recorded contents

Q. What type of contents are included?

A. The NDL carries out distributed collection and preservation of records and other materials related to the Great East Japan Earthquake through cooperation and collaboration with related agencies.

The records, etc. which are given particular precedence for inclusion are as follows.

1. Records and primary data (observed data/measured data, questionnaires, etc.) possessed or created by public institutions
2. Records related to activities of NPO, volunteer organizations and other groups and disaster area conditions (Particularly videos and images not collected by other institutions)
3. Surveys, research and primary data from academic institutions and organizations
4. Records related to business activities
5. Records related to earthquake-caused nuclear power plant damages and incidents
6. Videos, images and other items which include valuable academic and historical information related to damage

Q. What kinds of records about the Great East Japan Earthquake do you collect?

A. In accordance with the NDL Law, we attempt to acquire an exhaustive collection of books, magazines, and websites published by both the central government and local municipalities in Japan as well as photographs, animation, and other materials.

Q. Did the NDL suffer damage in the Great East Japan Earthquake?

A. Roughly 1.8 million books were thrown from their bookshelves. The HINAGIKU contains photos of the NDL archive taken immediately after the earthquake. For additional information, please refer to our annual reports for FY2010 and FY2011(in Japanese).

Q. Is the information available on HINAGIKU limited to the Great East Japan Earthquake?

A. HINAGIKU is an archive of information about disaster management and mitigation measures that were implemented both before and after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This includes records of academic research and information on disaster management and mitigation measures implemented against future disasters. HINAGIKU records of past disasters include the following:

Documents from other archives associated with HINAGIKU by the NDL. Other archives that can be browsed from the HINAGIKU website include.

• Chronological Table of earthquakes(Afrter Meiji Era:1868-)(Japanese only)
• Chronological Table of earthquakes(Edo Era:1605-1868)(Japanese only)

■Link

Q. May I link to the HINAGIKU?

A.Please refer to the section on "6: Copyright/Links".

■Use of Contents and Metadata

Q. May I reproduce content posted on HINAGIKU?

A. Please refer to Section "7. Reproduction of contents/API usage".

Q. May I use the metadata included in HINAGIKU?

A. In general, yes. But there are some exceptions. Please refer to Section "7. Reproduction of contents/API usage" for details.

Q. Please tell me about the right processing of the contents included in the HINAGIKU.

A. From the provision source, we are only authorized for use of the contents. For this reason, we cannot give you permission for use on behalf of the copyright holder.

■Those wishing to provide records and other information about the earthquake to the HINAGIKU.

Q. How long is collected data stored for?

A. We will store and provide materials permanently within technological limits.

Q. How do I register a record of the earthquake?

A. Please refer to the section of "Collection of records".

Q. Does HINAGIKU archive content from external archives or will that content be lost if the archive associated with HINAGIKU ceases to operate?

A. HINAGIKU does not archive content, so content that is no longer accessible via the Internet is lost. Please contact us if your archive is facing suspension of operation.