Los Angeles Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa and his delegation visited JMA on 12 December. Because of the Sun Andreas Faults, California has been suffered from earthquakes, including "the Northridge earthquake" occurred in 1994. Therefore the Mayor has great interest in the earthquake disaster prevention and this visit was realized according to his wish.

The delegation gave a courtesy call for Dr. Mitsuhiko Hatori, the Director-General of JMA, and received explanations on the services on earthquake and tsunami by the experts of JMA. The Mayor exchanged opinions related to "Earthquake Early Warning" with JMA staff and extended his hope to promote cooperation between JMA and its U.S. counterparts.

Mr. Antonio R. Villaraigosa, the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles (left), Dr. Mitsuhiko Hatori, the Director-General of JMA (right).