Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University Kaoru Takara Abstract This article describes an outline of the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), which was established in Kyoto University in 1951, including its mission and objectives in terms of research, education and social contributions. Brief history of DPRI, as well as that of Research Centre on Landslides (RCL), is also given in relation with domestic and international activities such as the Natural Disaster Research Council (NDRC), designated COE programs, a Leading Graduate Schools Program (GSS), the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR), UNESCO-KU-ICL UNITWIN Program, UNESCO International Hydrological Program (IHP), Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) projects, Japan-ASEAN Science, Technology and Innovation Platform (JASTIP) and the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI). Keywords Center of excellence Á Joint usage/research center Á NDRC Á GADRI Á JASTIP Introduction Since its inception in 1951, the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) of Kyoto University has been pursuing principles of natural disaster reduction, establishing inte- grated methodologies for disaster prevention on the basis of natural and social sciences, and educating students in related fields. The research staff members of the Institute are also af filiated with the Graduate Schools of Science, Engineering and Informatics of Kyoto University. Many graduate stu- dents come to the Institute to carry out their studies under supervision of its staff members. Currently, DPRI consists of four research groups, which include five Research Divisions and six Research Centers. It is managing the Natural Disaster Research Council, which is a research network for natural disaster risk reduction, since 2001. In March 2015, it established the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes (GADRI) as one of the actions for the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR) 2015-2030. Kyoto University also agreed with the Implementation of the ISDR-ICL Sendai Partnerships 2015–2025 for Global Promotion of Understanding and Reducing Landslide Disaster Risk. DPRI’s Mission and Objectives Today’s society becomes ever more rapidly vulnerable to natural hazards and consequent disasters due to the con- centration of populations in mega-cities. Additionally, changes in the global environment threaten us with the possibility of severe typhoons, floods, landslides, sea level rise, and droughts. Considering these rapid changes of ambient conditions, and to meet urgent research require- ments in a more timely manner, in 1996 the Institute reor- ganized itself into five research divisions and five research centers; namely, Integrated Management of Disaster Risk; Earthquake Disaster Prevention; Geo-Disasters; Fluvial and K. Takara (&) Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoji University, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan e-mail: takara.kaoru.7v@kyoto-u.ac.jp © The Author(s) 2017 K. Sassa et al. (eds.), Advancing Culture of Living with Landslides, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-59469-9_15 179