Abstract Epithermal gold deposits are the principal source of gold in Japan, and mesothermal vein gold or by-product gold from skarn deposits, VMS (the Kuroko type and the Besshi type), and polymetallic veins contribute historically only 10 percent of domestic gold production. Gold production from epithermal gold deposits of Kyushu amounts to 284 tonnes and comprises about 40 percent of total Japanese gold production, 576 tonnes, from the Meiji Restoration (1868) to present (1999). The silver/gold ratio of ores in Kyushu is less than three and differs from the value that exceeds 10 in other areas ( Fig. 1 ). The Yamagano mine in the Edo era and later the Taio and Kushikino mines were the largest gold-silver mines in Kyushu before the discovery of the Hishikari deposit. At present the Hishikari underground operation and three opencut mines of the Nansatsu-type gold deposits at Kasuga, Iwato, and Akeshi are producing gold. The major gold deposits in Kyushu, typically of the low- sulfidation vein type and locally the high-sulfidation Nansatsu type, occur in extinct or waning geothermal systems of the Pliocene and Pleistocene volcanic areas. The young formation ages relate to the well-preserved shallow bonanza zones and overlying thick argillic alteration zones, and in places surface expression of hydrothermal activity, such as sinters and nearby acid alteration related to steam- heated acid hot springs. This contribution aims to present supplementary data to a previous review paper ( Izawa and Urashima, 1989 ), which described the relationship

Abstract Chapter 7 introduced the plate configuration in and around the Japanese islands, particularly with respect to the deep seismic structure and associated seismicity. This chapter overviews the shallow seismicity in Japan, with a particular focus on inland active faulting from the viewpoint of earthquake geology. This is followed by a consideration of the long-term earthquake forecasting and seismic hazard assessment research that has been accelerated since the 1995 Kobe earthquake emphasizing several of the more important current issues such as the presence of hidden faults, the effects of fault segmentation, sequential rupture and seismic cycles, as well as time dependency due to stress perturbation.

Abstract The main part of this chapter describes a geological journey westwards from central to SW Japan and is specically aimed at the overseas visitor new to Japanese held geology. This is followed by a brief overview of the Japanese geopark system and museums with geological exhibits. There are currently over 30 geoparks in Japan, providing one of the most dense networks in the world of sites of special geological interest.

Abstract Neogene and Quaternary sedimentary successions are widely distributed across the Japanese islands, commonly underlying or distributing nearby heavily populated areas where the infrastructure of Japanese society is fully developed. Furthermore, some Neogene sedimentary successions contain oil and gas and have played an important role in hydrocarbon production in Japan. The Neogene and Quaternary sedimentary basins formed as a response to the development of the Japanese arc-trench system as a result of the opening of the Sea of Japan ( c. 15 Ma), and spatial and temporal variations in the sedimentary successions are considered to have been controlled by the interaction between glacial-interglacial sea-level changes and active tectonic movements of the arc-trench system, which has been controlled mainly by subduction of the Paci?c and Philippine Sea plates beneath the Japanese islands.