August 4, 2026 Release of Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar Observation Data from the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake

　The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), conducted observations of changes in the Earth's surface around Kumamoto on July 31, 2026 using an airborne synthetic aperture radar (Pi-SAR X3) in connection with the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake that occurred on July 28, 2026, and released the observation data on the NICT website.

Note: The published materials are in Japanese only.

1　 Overview

　NICT, under the jurisdiction of MIC, conducted observations of changes in the Earth's surface around Kumamoto on July 31, 2026 using the airborne synthetic aperture radar (Pi-SAR X3) developed by NICT, in connection with the 2026 Kumamoto Earthquake that occurred on July 28, 2026.

　Pi-SAR X3 is a radar mounted on an aircraft that offers a high degree of flexibility in observation. By using radio waves, it can image the ground surface at 15-cm resolution regardless of time of day and weather. It is expected to be used, among other purposes, to grasp the extent of damage in the event of disasters.

　The observation data are being released for use in grasping the extent of damage, disaster recovery, and future disaster prevention and mitigation measures.

2　 How to Obtain the Observation Data

　The observation data are available on the following NICT website. For details, including the contents of the data and terms of use, please visit the NICT website.

<URL for the Observation Data>
https://www2.nict.go.jp/res/news/news_202607.html