Elucidation of environmental change, prevention and reduction of natural disaster and their various social and economic costs , promotion of biological diversity through mountain science.
The Institute for Mountain Science (IMS) is located in the Chubu region of central Japan. IMS conducts a large number of field surveys and research on alpine environmental conservation, climate, ecosystem, the earth's crustal changes, natural disaster prevention, and sustainable natural resource management in the Japanese Alps. IMS collaborates with research institutes and universities overseas and also with various fields of study in order to develop advanced methodologies and technologies to model and monitor the ecosystem and natural resources. IMS consists of four departments: Mountain Ecosystem, Geomorphology, Geology and Disaster Prevention, Forest Resource and Graduate school education, department of research cooperation, which are aimed at conducting international research comparing alpine environments in Asia and around the world. In particular, IMS focuses on " the ecosystem, wild animals and plants in an alpine region"," hydrologic and atmospheric changes due to climate change"," succession in plant and animal habitats"," cross-border pollution due to economic development in Asian countries", long-term climate and water quality change" and" geomorphology and geology related to mountain formation".