Japan is located in an area prone to frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, and typhoons. MEXT promotes research and development intended to mitigate the damage from such disasters.

 Regarding earthquakes, MEXT proposes policies for the promotion of research and carries out research on improving accuracy in predicting the probability of earthquake occurrence and size and better understanding the mechanisms of earthquakes. It is also engaged in a large-scale observation and research project regarding earthquakes that occur directly under the Tokyo area.

 Regarding disaster prevention, promotes a variety of research and development regarding disaster prevention science and technology related to natural disasters. This includes use of the full-scale shaking table E-Defense.

STAR-E (Seismology TowArd Research innovation with data of Earthquake) project website is now available.