Changes in paleoseismic studies of active faults in Japan since the 1995 Kobe earthquake

This paper discusses recent progress of onshore active faults studies in Japan, especially since the 1995 destructive Kobe earthquake, when the number of trenching studies, which are essential for the reconstruction of onshore paleoearthquakes, has rapidly increased. The timing and repeat interval of paleoearthquakes are here reviewed for the Miura Peninsula, south of Tokyo and the Awaji Island and Kobe-Osaka area, in central Japan, where trenching have been carried out very intensively in the last few years.