Tokyo-based ALE Co., Ltd. (ALE), led by CEO Lena Okajima, with the mission to make space closer for people, signed a Science Advisory Contract with meteorology expert, Dr. Takemasa Miyoshi, on 1st April 2020.
As part of its Space Entertainment business, ALE prepares to offer the world man-made shooting stars. Furthermore, by utilizing the satellite technology gained through the development of the space entertainment business. ALE plans to use the data obtained from the lower and middle atmosphere for weather forecasts as part of its Data Service business. By analyzing these data, the company aims to contribute in the improvement of weather forecast accuracy and help characterize the mechanisms behind climate change.
Dr. Miyoshi is one of Japan’s leading meteorologists and the foremost authority on data assimilation (a technique by which numerical simulation model and observations are combined to improve accuracy of the model) which is a key technique in increasing the accuracy of numerical weather prediction. Currently, he leads the Data Assimilation Research Team at RIKEN Center for Computational Science and with his pioneering-spirit, uses a far more larger big data than conventional big data sets, greatly improving the speed and accuracy of guerrilla rainstorms predictions, which has been known to be difficult to predict.
ALE is working on various verifications with a view to commercializing its Data Services Business using its own lower and middle atmosphere data from satellite observation and Dr. Miyoshi’s deep knowledge of meteorology and data assimilation.
ALE is a company that aims to contribute to the sustainable development of humanity. Extreme weather events that we experience on Earth are increasing year by year and they are causing great damage all over the world. ALE’s Data Services Business will serve to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and characterize extreme weather event mechanisms and, first and foremost, contribute to the sustainable development of the Earth’s environment.
■ Comment from Takemasa Miyoshi
I am very honored to have been given the opportunity to contribute to ALE as a Science Advisor for satellite weather observation and weather forecasts. The satellite project that ALE is working on is full of dreams and I feel it has the potential to open up the future of space development. I would like to offer the know-how and knowledge I have accumulated through my meteorological work and scientific research up to now to deepen scientific understanding of the Earth and other planets and for the ALE project that will open up business that will contribute to the development of weather forecasts. By doing this, I would like to contribute to the realization of the new space business that ALE is aiming for and the development of science from this.
■ Comment from Tomoaki Fujita, COO
We are very happy to welcome Dr. Miyoshi to ALE as a Science Advisor. He has revolutionized the numerical weather forecasting field using big data. With Dr. Miyoshi’s support, we will be able to proceed even more confidently with the realization and verification of the values created by our Data Services Business. I also believe that this is one step closer to our goal of contributing to the sustainable development of the Earth’s environment.
■ Takemasa Miyoshi Profile
Dr. Miyoshi joined the Japan Meteorological Agency after graduating from the Faculty of Science at Kyoto University in 2000 and studied abroad for two years from 2003 at the University of Maryland on the National Personnel Authority Long-term Overseas Fellowship Program for Administrative Officials and obtained a Ph.D. in Meteorology from there in 2005. After working as a Scientific Official at the Numerical Prediction Division of the Japan Meteorological Agency and then an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, he became the Team Leader of the Data Assimilation Research Team at RIKEN Center for Computational Science in 2013 (current post). He also holds the posts of Deputy Program Director of the RIKEN Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences Program, Chief Scientist for the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research, Visiting Professor at the University of Maryland, Collaborative Professor at the Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University and Visiting Principal Scientist at JAMSTEC. He has received many awards including the 2014 Japan Geosciences Union Nishida Prize, the 2016 Meteorological Society of Japan Awards and the 2018 Yomiuri Technoforum Gold Medal Prize. His main field of research is weather forecasting using supercomputers. As the foremost authority on data assimilation which links simulation and the real world, he links the huge calculations of supercomputers with weather observation data from around the world to revolutionize weather forecasting.