![]() Over this century and beyond, scientists expect a warming world to drive further sea-level rise, putting several million more people in Japan at risk of flooding. 8, 16 In some coastal areas of Asia, a one-foot (0.30-meter) rise in sea level can produce nearly 150 feet (45 meters) of land erosion. Scientists attribute this variation to regional differences in land surface movement. 13, 14, 15Īlong the East Asia coast, annual rates of sea-level rise range from 0.06 to 0.17 inches (1.5 to 4.4 millimeters). These include sinking (subsidence) and rising (uplift) of the land, circulation of the atmosphere and the ocean, and the origin of meltwater. 10, 13īesides global sea-level rise, several other factors influence regional sea-level rise. 12 Oceans are expanding as they warm, while shrinking glaciers and the melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are adding water to the oceans. Scientists attribute this recent acceleration in global sea-level rise to global warming. 9 From 1993 to 2003, for example, that rate rose to 0.12 inches (3.1 millimeters) per year-70 percent higher than the average rate for the twentieth century. 5, 8 Sea level has been rising globally since the end of the last ice age, but the rate has accelerated over the past two decades. In Osaka and other coastal cities, sea-level rise can increase the magnitude and danger of storm surges. However, average annual costs to repair damage from typhoons in Japan reached some U.S.$240 million. 5, 6 The last half of the twentieth century brought no significant trend in the number of typhoons (tropical cyclones) making landfall each year in Japan, and the number of port-related disasters actually fell owing to improved coastal protection. Like other densely populated coastal areas, Japan is particularly exposed to the environmental, economic, and social effects of typhoons. Storm surges are one cause of coastal flooding. 4 More than 10 percent of the population of greater Osaka-and more than U.S.$200 billion in economic assets-are considered vulnerable to coastal flooding. ![]() In 2005, Osaka was one of the world's port cities most exposed to coastal flooding and wind damage. 2 Osaka is also known as the "kitchen of Japan," and is famous for delicious food. 2 More than 2.5 million people live in the city, and Osaka is the country's second-most-populous prefecture, after Tokyo. A former capital of Japan, Osaka has been an economic and commercial center for centuries.
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