Tetsu Imai
Senior Manager
Data Journalism Team,
Network & Digital News Division
News Department
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Having started his career as a reporter at NHK Kyoto Station in 1994, Tetsu has committed himself to coverage of natural disasters for more than 20 years.
It was 1995 when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit west regions of Japan with victims over 6400 people. As one of a few reporters who witnessed the destruction caused by the quake, he worked on numerous numbers of news stories and documentaries focusing on the aftermath and the recovery process of the people and the city.
He moved to NHK News Headquarter in Tokyo in 2000. In 2006, he collaborated with Japan Meteorological Agency to build a new warning system called “Earthquake Early Warning System”, which gives alert of an upcoming earthquake before the shake starts. It is now one of several fundamental systems which support NHK’s disaster coverage.
From 2014, Tetsu has been leading NHK’s Data Journalism team. His work aims not only to report but to reduce the damages of disasters by analyzing big data.
