—Why did you choose to pursue platform studies?
Marine noise is still relatively unknown in Japan. The ocean is filled with various sounds, but in recent years, the noise emitted by vessels has been significantly increasing, with some studies showing a five-fold increase over the past few decades. Some studies have pointed out that it is a factor that negatively affects the survival, reproduction, and communication of living organisms; thus, I would like to contribute to solving this issue. However, the target species and noise sources are diverse, with varying data to be obtained and differing methods of impact assessment. In order to address the problem, it is essential to integrate databases so that they can be effectively utilized; thus, I realized that participating in this program aimed at building a platform could potentially contribute to resolving this issue.
—What research themes are you currently working on?
My research focuses on building a platform to solve the marine noise issue. I am engaged in this research in two major methods. The first involves developing a system that automatically detects and evaluates the callings of marine organisms, which are considered particularly sensitive to noise, the source of the noise, and the noise level. The second involves the development of an impact assessment database to determine what effects occur on the target organisms when exposed to what levels of noise. As a model organism, I am conducting a quantitative evaluation of the effects of vessel noise on the finless porpoise. As vessel noise is mainly composed of low-frequency sounds, there are few studies on their effects on marine organisms that use ultrasonic sounds. The finless porpoise primarily uses ultrasonic sounds and is thus the most suitable model organism. Through these two methods, I intend to build a platform to evaluate the impact of noise on marine organisms.
—What have you gained through the School of Platforms program?
As I belong to the Graduate School of Agriculture, I lacked informatics knowledge. Through the lectures and seminars in this program, I have learned the basics of information and communication, the application of technology to society, what kind of platforms actually exist, and conducted case studies to determine the problems. In addition, I was able to identify what problems would arise when I applied this to my own research, what barriers I needed to overcome, and how I should solve them, which was a very significant experience.
—What is the platform to you (ideal situations, desirable future, etc.)?
I expect that platforms will become a standard tool that can be used to solve not only social issues but also everyday problems in the future. During the lectures, I observed platforms for various issues, and I was left with the impression that many of them were closely familiar to us. I believe that it is necessary for these platforms to be applied to various fields and made more familiar so that we can use them without even knowing it.
—If the goal is to improve the world just a little from where it stands today, what do you think is needed, or what would you like to do?
Although this is a step away from platform studies itself, I think it is essential that we all have a little bit of courage to communicate what we are feeling. Working with living organisms as a subject of study, I noticed that most people focus only on human beings. But that is because people don’t realize what kind of danger other living organisms are currently facing. Therefore, I hope platforms will help people broaden their perspectives and serve as a portal or source of reference. It is important to disseminate information to even those who may not be directly interested, such as the current situation of living organisms and what we are obligated to do about it.
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