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- 2025/10/22
[Notice] RECWET Annual report has been issued
The two-year annual report which summarizes RECWET'S activities and research results for FY2023-2024 has been issued.
● The 2023-2024 report (PDF, 4.8MB)
● The list of the past reports (Japanese)- 2025/10/10
[Activities] Activities at International Ultraviolet Association, IUVA (Prof. Oguma)
As of Sep. 9, 2025, Prof. Kumiko Oguma (International Water Environment) has been elected as the IUVA President-Elect (Incoming President). She is honored, especially as the first person from outside North America and Europe to take on this role.
List of IUVA Board Members Image：IUVA LinkedIn
She also served as the Program Committee Chair for the 2025 IUVA Asian Pacific Regional Symposium, held at the National University of Singapore on July 7-8, and contributed a review to UVSolutions, the official publication of the International Ultraviolet Society.
● Kumiko Oguma (2025) Reviewing the 2025 IUVA Asian Pacific Regional Symposium, UVSolutions, Quarter 3, 46-47.- 2025/10/09
[Publication] Joint research paper with the Japanese Red Cross Society (Prof. Oguma)
Prof. Kumiko Oguma (International Water Environment) and Japanese Red Cross Society investigated the quality of platelets after storage following irradiation with ultraviolet C (UVC) light-emitting diodes (LED), and the paper was published online by Transfus. Med.
● Tomoya Hayashi, Yoshihiko Sakurai, Yoshihiro Fujimura, Kumiko Oguma, Yuichi Mishima, Fumiya Hirayama, Yoshihiko Tani, Yoshihiro Takihara, Takafumi Kimura (2025) Quality of platelet concentrates after three-day storage following 265 nm ultraviolet C-light-emitting diode irradiation, Transfusion Medicine, Early View, 1-8.
UVC-LEDs have attracted considerable attention as potential solutions to transfusion-related infections.
https://doi.org/10.1111/tme.70025- 2025/10/08
[Award] World's Top 2% Scientists List (Prof. Kato ＆ Project Prof. Kitajima)
The latest edition (2025/Vol.8) of the "Updated Science-Wide Author Databases of Standardized Citation Indicators", a list of top-cited scientists created by Stanford University and Elsevier, was released on Sep 19, 2025. Among the current members of RECWET, Prof. Emeritus Takashi Kato (the Branch office) and Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) were selected for both the "career-long" and "single recent year" categories *.
● Prof. Emeritus Kato (Chemistry - Polymers, General Chemistry field)
This list covers scientists worldwide who have published at least five papers in 22 scientific fields and 174 sub-fields. The top 2% of scientists in each subfield were selected based on information from Scopus, an abstract and citation database provided by Elsevier. * Based on citation received during calendar year 2024
Consecutive selection for both Career and Single year since 2019/Vol.1
● Project Prof. Kitajima (Biomedical Research - Environmental Sciences, Microbiology field)
Career: 2024, 2025
Single year: 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025- 2025/10/02
[Presentation] Oral presentaions at IWA-ASPIRE (Assoc. Profs. Hashimoto & Kasuga)
At the Asia-Pacific Regional Conference IWA-ASPIRE (September 30th - October 2nd, New Zealand), a Doctoral student supervised by Assoc. Prof. Takashi Hashimoto (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development), his collaborator, Project Asst. Prof. Cecilia Burzio (RECWET Collaborative Member), and a project researcher led by Project Assoc. Prof. Ikuro Kasuga (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) gave oral presentations as follows.
● Cecilia Burzio, Michael Welle, Yoshihiko Kawaguchi, Koji Kosaka, Kazuhiro Komatsu, Takashi Hashimoto (2025) DETECTION OF RIVER WATER CONTAMINATION USING EXCITATION-EMISSION MATRIX FLUORESCENCE SPECTROSCOPY AND MACHINE LEARNING TOOLS.
● Yan Tung Lo, Takashi Hashimoto, Satoshi Takizawa (2025) ROLE OF FUNCTIONALIZATION IN CARBON-BASED NANOSHEETS FOR ENHANCED REJECTION OF POLLUTANTS IN THIN-FILM NANOCOMPOSITE MEMBRANES.
● Thi My Hanh VU, Futoshi KURISU, Futoshi HASEBE, Masato SUZUKI, Ikuro KASUGA (2025) WASTEWATER SURVEILLANCE OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE GENES BY HIGH-THROUGHPUT QUANTITATIVE PCR IN FIVE CITIES IN VIETNAM.
10th IWA-ASPIRE Conference and Water New Zealand Conference & Expo, 29 Sep - 3 Oct, Christchurch.- 2025/10/01
[Conference] The 12th Nikkei FT Communicable Diseases Conference (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima will be speaking at the "12th Nikkei FT Communicable Diseases Conference ～What new values are required in an age of division?～", which will be streamed online live from October 7-9, where he will engage in in-depth discussions with experts in various fields, including infectious disease countermeasures, vaccines, and the front lines of medical care. Viewing is free, so please do tune in
October 7th, 9:30-11:30
Agenda1 Improving Global Health Security through Broad-ranging Collaboration
A discussion gathering 13 lecturers from industry, government, and academia, including Dr. Shigeru OMI.
▶Pre-registration and details here
- 2025/09/30
[Cooperated event] Hydrosphere Science Seminar #33（Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima）
#33 of Hydrosphere Science Seminar, which RECWET also collaborate to co-sponsor, will be given by Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima from Labolatory of International Wastewater-based Epidemiology, RECWET, from 15:00, 6th October. Please register here and join us!
- 2025/09/27
[Awards] Joint conference presentation with pediatric researchers won top award (Project Prof. Kitajima)
A researcher in the field of pediatrics at Niigata University's Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, who is in the joint research team with Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima, gave a lecture as a recipient of the Young Researcher Encouragement Award, and after judging, was selected as the best lecture out of six presentations.
第66回日本臨床ウイルス学会@札幌
● 太刀川潤、相澤悠太、鈴木優子、羽深理恵、Nur Irma Safitri、北島正章、齋藤昭彦 (2025) 下水サーベイランスによるパレコウイルス-Aの同定と遺伝子型解析, 第66回日本臨床ウイルス学会, Sep 27-28, 札幌コンベンションセンター. [若手奨励賞受賞者講演] [最優秀賞受賞]- 2025/09/19
[Presentation] The 28th JSWE Symposium (Many members involved)
The following presentations were given at the 28th JSWE Symposium held on Sep 17-19 at Toyama Prefectural University.
Winners of JSWE-ORGANO Doctoral Research Award ( ): Responsible faculty
● Gan Yalan (Post-doc, 春日郁朗) Characterization and Control of Pathogenic Nontuberculous Mycobacteria in Hospital Water Supply System.
● 上原悠太郎 (RECWET Post-doc, 栗栖太) 高分解能質量分析計を用いた水道水中細菌増殖基質の探索と同定および浄水処理における消長の評価.Oral presentations
● 佐藤実夏，鳥居将太郎，小熊久美子, 紫外線発光ダイオード（UV-LED）による浄化槽処理水中の大腸菌の不活化.
● 竹内広海，岸野亮，鳥居将太郎，片山浩之, 雨天時越流水中の感染性ウイルス検出に向けた細胞培養 PCR 法の開発.Poster presentations
The 28th JSWE Symposium, Toyama Prefectural University, Sep 17-19.
● Miaomiao Liu, Angga Sandhyana Made, 松山しずか, 北島正章, 馬場知哉, 原田真一, Characterization of Elizabethkingia spp. Isolated from the Wastewater of an Elderly Care Facility：Opportunistic Pathogens with Extensive Intrinsic Resistance.
● 白川大登，橋本崇史，片山浩之, 飲用再利用において限外濾過膜表面のウイルス吸脱着がウイルス除去能に与える影響.
● Gan Yalan，栗栖太，春日郁朗 (2025) Characterization and Inactivation of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Regrowing in Hospital Water Supply System.
- 2025/09/18
[Activity] Panel at GLOWACON, International Consortium for Wastewater Epidemiology (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima took the stage as a panelist at a conference of GLOWACON, the Global Consortium for Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance for Public Health.
● Programme
https://glowacontest.org/content/glowacon-events/glowacon-expo-osaka/● X of EU Commission Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA)
"At @expo2025japan: the call for expression of interest for the #GLOWACON Aviation Programme is open.
"From Expo Osaka, Europe is advancing global health preparedness! Hosted by #EUatExpo, the #GLOWACON event discussed wastewater & environmental surveillance as a tool for early warning & response. We are expanding the list of monitored pathogens to include dengue, Zika & mpox."
https://x.com/EC_HERA/status/1968589461765173338
This initiative will use wastewater analysis at airports worldwide to create a synchronised global system for monitoring pathogens and strengthening public health security"
https://x.com/EC_HERA/status/1968608713838575686
Image: from HERA's X- 2025/09/16
[Presentation] Presentation at IWA MTC 2025 (Assoc. Prof. Hashimoto, Prof. Katayama)
A graduate student supervised by Assoc. Prof. Takashi Hashimoto and Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development) gave the following presentation at an international conference on membrane technology.
● Kotaro Shimazu, Takashi Hashimoto, Hiroyuki Katayama (2025) Effect of Diffusion and Surface Interactions on Virus Removal by MF Membrane, Poster Pitch, The 11th IWA Membrane Technology Conference & Exhibition for Water and Wastewater Treatment and Reuse (MTC 2025), Sep 13-18, Daegu, Korea.- 2025/09/10
[Lecture] Lecture at DLSU, collaborative research partner (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima gave the following lecture at De La Salle University (DLSU), the Philippines, on Sep 10th.
● Event name：
Those lecturers are also conducting joint research with DLSU within the framework of the JST NEXUS Japan-Philippines International Collaborative Research Project "Water Security" (Japan-sie PI: Prof. Eiji Haramoto, University of Yamanashi).
The Pursuit of Water Security: Water and Wastewater Research and Collaboration Lecture Series
● Lecture title：
From Method Development to Public Health Practice: Advancing Wastewater-based Epidemiology- 2025/09/10
[Publication] 3 academic journal articles published by Sep (Prof. Kurisu)
The following 3 academic journal papers involving Prof. Futoshi Kurisu (Water Systems Management Division) were published between by September.
■ A paper co-authored with Thai researchers proposing a new method for linking unknown disinfection byproducts with their precursors (Water Research)
Ittikorn Palee, Futoshi Kurisu, Phanwatt Phungsai (2026) Characterizing disinfection byproduct precursors through organic matter fractionation and correlation analysis using nontargeted screening analysis with Orbitrap mass spectrometry, Water Research, 288, Part A, 124566.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124566 Online Sep 10/Print Jan 1, 2026■ A review paper co-authored with Indian researchers and the others on the prospects for omics technologies aimed at advanced biological wastewater treatment methods (J. Environ. Chem. Eng.)
Manish Kumar, Shiwangi Dogra, Nilotpal Das, Siddhant Dash, Ashutosh Sharma, Aurea Karina Ramírez Jiménez, Alfredo Díaz Lara, Shane A. Snyder, Futoshi Kurisu (2025) Unlocking sustainability: Integrating omics for advanced wastewater treatment, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13(4), 117154.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.117154 Online Jun 3/Print Aug■ A preface to a special feature on the lectures given at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Biotechnology, Japan (Journal of Environmental Biotechnology)
前田憲成, 加藤雄大, 栗栖太 (2025) 特集：「ゲテモノ食い環境微生物は何を食べるのか？ ～水処理技術のこれまでとこの先～」に寄せて, 環境バイオテクノロジー学会誌, 25(1), p.49.
https://doi.org/10.50963/jenvbio.25.1_49 Online Aug 20- 2025/09/08
[Lecture] Invited lecture at the 38th JSME @ TOKYO2025 (Project Assoc. Prof. Gomi)
Project Assoc. Prof. Ryota Gomi (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) will give the following invited lecture at the 38th JSME @ TOKYO2025 (Japanese Society of Microbial Ecology), which will be held at the Ookayama Campus of Institute of Science Tokyo from September 7th to 10th.
● Lecture Time：Morning, Wednesday, September 10th
● Symposium：05 Mobilome-Driven Dissemination of Antimicrobial Resistance Gene
● Lecture Title：環境細菌のゲノム解析による薬剤耐性遺伝子新規拡散機構の探索- 2025/09/03
[Call for Papers] Collection on Wastewater Surveillance (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima is the editor of the new Collection on wastewater surveillance in Discover Public Health. We welcome your paper submissions.
● Journal：Discover Public Health
● Collection：Application of Wastewater Surveillance in Public Health
● Submission deadline：25 November 2025
● Editor：Dr. Phong Thai, The University of Queensland and Dr. Masaaki Kitajima, The University of Tokyo
● Details：https://link.springer.com/collections/giiadhjdde- 2025/08/22
[Event] Report on IFAWET-5, the International Forum on Asian Water Environment Technology
The fifth bilateral conference on water environment technology, co-hosted by RECWET and local universities and other institutions, was held in Dehradun, northwest India, from August 6 to 8, 2025. Plenary talks, Keynote presentation, Invited talks, Oral presentations, and Poster presentations were held. In addition to Japan and India, there were also participants from Mexico, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Netherlands, and the event ended with great success.
From the Japan side, plenary talks were given by Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama1 , Prof. Futoshi Kurisu2, Project Assoc. Prof. Ikuro Kasuga4, Assoc. Prof. Takashi Hashimoto1, and Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima4 in order of lectures.
1 Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development 2 Water System Management 4 International Wastewater-based Epidemiology
We have launched Virtual Special Issues (VSI) related to IFAWET-5 in Groundwater for Sustainable Development (GSD) and Journal of Water and Environment Technology (JWET). The deadline for submissions to GSD is January 15, 2026.
https://www.recwet.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/asian_water2025- 2025/08/21
[Cooperated event] Hydrosphere Science Seminar #32（Prof. Guy Midgley）
#32 of Hydrosphere Science Seminar, which RECWET also collaborate to co-sponsor, will be given by Distinguished Prof. Guy Midgley (Stellenbosch University) from 16:00, 21st August. Please register here and join us!
- 2025/08/19
[Publication] Paper on wastewater surveillance for early pathogen detection in Asia (Project Prof. Kitajima)
A paper on a cross-sectional assessment of wastewater surveillance efforts in Asia has been published online in Int. J. Environ. Health Res. In addition to Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima, many researchers from Asian countries participated in this research, including Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Hong Kong, and Australia.
Junxiong Pang, Judith Chui Ching Wong, Suci Melati Wulandari, Martin Tay, Erik Albert Karlsson, Vicka Oktaria, Imran Nisar, Munirul Alam, Indah Kartika Murni, Afreenish Amir, Farah Ishtiaq, Zhang Tong, Masaaki Kitajima, Monica Nolan, Sandy Tze-Minn Mak, Sebastian Maurer-Strohn, Gavin James Smith, Ruklanthi de Alwis, Yann Felix Boucher, Lee Ching Ng & Paul Michael Pronyk (2025) Wastewater surveillance for early pathogen detection in Asia, International Journal of Environmental Health Research.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2025.2544736 Online Aug 19- 2025/08/19
[Lecture] Invited lecture at Asia Youth Leaders 2025 (Director Fujita)
At the program "ASIA YOUTH LEADERS 2025"*, 80 selected high schoolstudents from 8 Asian countries get together in Japan to discuss environmental and social issue "What we need to do to get safe water" to propose solutions. During this five-day event, RECWET Director Tsuyoshi Fujita delivered a lecutre below.
● 藤田壮 (2025) グローバルな視点から考えるアジアの水の問題と課題について, 2025年度アジアユースリーダーズ, (公財)イオン1%クラブ, Aug 19, 東京ベイ幕張ホール.
Report from AEON Cambodia Co.,Ltd
* Sponsored by AEON 1% Club (public foundation), supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology- 2025/08/08
[Conference] 3 presentations in collaboration with pediatric researchers (Project Prof. Kitajima)
There will be an oral presentation at a domestic conference as a Winner's lecture of Young Researcher Encouragement Award, and also two poster presentations at an international conference. The presenters are the researchers from the Department of Pediatrics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, who conduct joint research with Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology).
第66回日本臨床ウイルス学会@札幌
● 太刀川潤、相澤悠太、鈴木優子、羽深理恵、Nur Irma Safitri、北島正章、齋藤昭彦 (2025) 下水サーベイランスによるパレコウイルス-Aの同定と遺伝子型解析, 第66回日本臨床ウイルス学会, Sep 27-28, 札幌コンベンションセンター. [若手奨励賞受賞者講演]IDWeek@Atlanta
● Jun Tachikawa, Yuta Aizawa, Rie Habuka, Kotaro Tsushima, Nur Irma Safitri, Tatsuki Ikuse, Masaaki Kitajima, Akihiko Saitoh (2025) Successful Early Detection of the Enterovirus-D68 Outbreak among Children by Wastewater Surveillance in Niigata City, Japan, 2024, Poster, IDWeek, Oct 19-22, Atlanta, USA.
● Yuta Aizawa, Jun Tachikawa, Rie Habuka, Nur Irma Safitri, Ryohei Izumita, Satoshi Hasegawa, Kazuhiro Horiba, Masaaki Kitajima, Akihiko Saitoh (2025) Detection of Recombinant Parechovirus-A5 in Neonatal Sepsis-like Illness and its Community Circulation Confirmed by Wastewater Surveillance, Poster, IDWeek, Oct 19-22, Atlanta, USA.- 2025/08/08
[Conference] Presentations and award by postdoc and graduate students at IFAWET-5 (Dr. Uehara)
Following presentations were given at IFAWET-5 (International Forum on Asian Water Environment Technology) held in Dehradun, India from Aug 6th to 8th. Among these, Dr. Yutaro Uehara, a RECWET Project Researcher, and Shusuke Araki (M1) won the Best Oral Presentation Award.
● Tiamenla Lanuyanger (D1, Ikuro Kasuga)：Characterization of antimicrobial resistance in river environments in Saitama Prefecture, Japan by metagenomic analysis
( )：Supervisor or responsible professor
● Dr. Yutaro Uehara (Futoshi Kurisu) ：Microbial regrowth in hospital taps water and non-targeted analysis of their growth substrates [The Best Oral Presentation Award]
● Shusuke Araki (M1, Masaaki Kitajima)：Airport wastewater surveillance: An efficient tool for monitoring imported infectious diseases [The Best Oral Presentation Award]- 2025/08/06
[Media] Video clip broadcast/online on NHK WORLD, Direct Talk (Project Prof. Kitajima)
A 15-min video clip featuring Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) and his work was broadcast on NHK WORLD-JAPAN's Direct Talk and it is now available at the following link.
Wastewater Research for Public Health: Kitajima Masaaki / Project Professor, Research Center for Water Environment Technology, The University of Tokyo（Image：NHK WORLD-JAPAN）
On Air Schedule
August 6, 2025. 10:30 - 10:45 / 15:30 - 15:45 / 21:30 - 21:45
August 7, 2025. 02:30 - 02:45 / 07:30 - 07:45
August 11, 2025. 09:15 - 09:30 (A total of 6 broadcasts)- 2025/08/01
[HR] Dr. VU Duc Canh promoted to lecturer in his home country
Dr. VU Duc Canh has been promoted to a lecturer position at Ton Duc Thang University in Vietnam on August 1st. He received his PhD degree from UTokyo in Mar 2020 and continued his research as a postdoctoral researcher in the Dept. Urban Engineering and then in Laboratory of International Wastewater Epidemiology. Congratulations!
[Dr. Canh's main research achievements]
● Papers：Published 20 papers, 14 of which he was the first author
● Awards：
JSWE-ORGANO Doctoral Research Awards Grand Prize (2019)
The WET Excellent Presentation Award (2019)
The 5th Award for Asian Young Professional on Water Research (2014)
● Book chapters：
「Environmental Resilience and Transformation in Times of COVID-19」－Chapter10 (2021)
「Plastic Atlas Asia Edition: Facts and figures about the world of synthetic polymers」－WATER FROM THE RIVERS TO THE OCEANS (2021)
● International Conference committee：International Young Researchers' Conference, VANJ Conference etc.- 2025/08/01
[Award] The 6th in the world ranking in the field of liquid crystals (Prof. Kato)
Prof. Emeritus Takashi Kato has been ranked the 6th in the world ranking in the field of liquid crystals according to the ranking by ScholarGPS (Meta Analytics LLC.). See the details below.
Highly Ranked Scholars | Liquid crystal | ScholarGPS- 2025/07/31
[Press Release] Economic Evaluation of Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19 Testing in Long-Term Care Settings: Early Detection Through Wastewater Could Generate Net Benefits of $41 Million in 4 Weeks (Project Prof. Kitajima)
A paper with Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) is the last author and conducted in collaboration with Waseda University, Kanagawa University of Human Services, and others, has been published in Sci. Total Environ. A press release in English was issued on July 31st by School of Engineering.
Byung-Kwang Yoo, Ryo Iwamoto, Ungil Chung, Tomoko Sasaki, Peter G. Szilagyi, Masaaki Kitajima (2025) Economic evaluation of the city-level warning system based on surveillance at wastewater treatment plants to recommend optimal clinical COVID-19 screening tests at long-term care facilities, Japan, Science of The Total Environment, 990, 179645.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179645 Online Jun 18/Print Aug 15- 2025/07/29
[Media] Research introduced in Government publication HIGHLIGHTING Japan (Project Prof. Kitajima)
The August issue of "HIGHLIGHTING Japan," a monthly online magazine published by Public Relations Office, Government of Japan, featured an article introducing the research of Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima. The article is available in both Japanese and English, and includes a photo provided by the Imperial Household Agency.
● Masaaki Kitajima (2025) [Science and Technology — The Next Generation of Young Leaders] Wastewater Surveillance: Detecting Viruses in Wastewater and Monitoring Infectious Disease Trends, Public Relations Office Government of Japan, HIGHLIGHTING Japan, Vol.206, August.- 2025/07/15
[Cooperated event] Hydrosphere Science Seminar #30（Prof. Günter Blöschl - Stockholm Water Prize 2025）
#30 of Hydrosphere Science Seminar, which RECWET also collaborate to co-sponsor, will be given by Prof. Günter Blöschl (Vienna University of Technology) from 14:00, 22th July (Tue). Please register here and join us!
- 2025/07/14
[Lecture] Webinar on the application of WBE in mass gathering events (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) will be a panelist at a webinar held by Turkish Water Institute (SUEN) and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on July 14.
"Implementation of COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Village, Summer 2021", Wastewater Surveillance: Public Health Protection at Global Events, SUEN-IsDB Webinar, July 14, Online.- 2025/07/12
[Cooperated event] International Symposium on Advanced Polymers and Functional Material (Shinshu U/UTokyo Collaboration Branch Office)
"International Symposium on Advanced Polymers and Functional Materials" was held from July 11 to 12 at Okayama University. The symposium was hosted by the Okayama University, co-hosted by RECWET's Shinshu University/The University of Tokyo Collaboration Branch office, and coordinated by Prof. Emeritus Takashi Kato (the Branch office/former Deputy Director of RECWET).
Official web page: Announcement・Event report (written in Japanese) flyer(PDF)- 2025/07/11
RECWET's latest booklet released
The July 2025 brochure is now complete, featuring updated information on our organization, members, and research topics.
Web booklet page
Please visit our website for a full review.- 2025/07/06
[Conference] Presentations by postdocs and graduate students at WET2025 (Project Profs. Kitajima & Katayama, Prof. Kurisu, Project Assoc. Prof. Kasuga)
At WET2025 (Water and Environment Technology Conference) held at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka on 5-6 July, following presentations were given.
Supervised by Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima* and Project Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama*
● Dr. Vu Duc Canh (postdoc)：Public Health Insights from Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Surveillance of Pertussis in Japan and Vietnam
● Dr. Made Sandhyana Angga (postdoc)：Leveraging Wastewater-Based Epidemiology to Track Human Papillomavirus Prevalence
● Zejun Liu (D1)：Comprehensive Optimization of Norovirus Dose-Response Models Using Maximum Likelihood Estimation with Combined Challenge Data
☆ Shusuke Araki (M1)：Evaluation of Sampling Strategies and Pathogen Detection Methods in Airport Wastewater SurveillanceSupervised by Prof. Futoshi Kurisu** or Project Assoc. Prof. Ikuro Kasuga*
☆: The WET Excellent Presentation Awardees BOLD: RECWET members/researchers
● Dr. VU My Hanh Thi (postdoc)：Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes Associated with Untreated Wastewater Discharge in Water Environment in Northern Viet Nam
● LANUYANGER Tiamenla (D2)：Variations of Cefotaxime-Resistant Escherichia coli and Class 1 Integron Integrase Genes in Urban Wastewater in Two Cities in Japan
☆ HOMYOK Pratamaporn (Res. student)：Optimum COD/N Ratio and pH for Partial Denitrification with Nitrite Production
● PALEE Ittikorn (Res. student)：Unraveling Disinfection Byproduct Formation from Emerging Organic Pollutants in Chlorination Processes by Unknown and Suspect Screening Analysis with Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry
*: International Wastewater-based Epidemiology **: Water System Management- 2025/07/03
[Event] Special Seminar Series #67 (Dr. N.T.A. Hang & Dr. T.T.V. Ha/Lecture)
We invited Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi An Hang and Dr. Tran Thi Viet Ha from Master’s Program in Environmental Engineering at Vietnam Japan University, Vietnam to give special lectures from 16:00 on Thursday July 3rd. Seminar details
- 2025/07/03
[Publication] Opinion paper on pesticides in the environment (Prof. Kurisu)
To mark the start of an international research project on the behavior and management of pesticides in the environment, an opinion paper explaining the project's objectives was published in Curr. Opin. Environ. Sci. Health. Prof. Futoshi Kurisu (Water System Management Division) is the last author, and the project is a collaborative effort with Indian researchers and the others.
Manish Kumar, Siddhant Dash, Jürgen Mahlknecht, Alan Kolok, Shiwangi Dogra, Keisuke Kuroda, Tomohiro Tobino, Abrahan Mora, Absar Ahmad Kazmi, Rajesh Singh, Pravin Kumar Mutiyar, Rajesh Roshan Dash, Futoshi Kurisu (2025) Understanding the pathways, pollution and potential solutions pertaining to pesticides: Circular engineering for persistent chemicals, Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health, 46, 100638.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coesh.2025.100638 Online Jul 3/Print August- 2025/07/01
[HR] Postdoc researcher Cecilia BURZIO promoted to Project Asst. Prof.
Dr. Cecilia BURZIO, a Project Researcher at RECWET, was promoted to a Project Assistant Professor in the Department of Urban Engineering on 1st July. Congratulations!
Dr. BURZIO joined UTokyo in October 2023. At RECWET, she has mainly been engaged in research on "Development of detection and countermeasure methods for water quality accidents through continuous monitoring and comprehensive analysis, and optimization of watershed monitoring (translated English)." In the future, she will support RECWET as a collaborative member.- 2025/06/30
[Cooperated event] Hydrosphere Science Seminar #29（Dr. Wei Jiang）
#29 of Hydrosphere Science Seminar, which RECWET also collaborate to co-sponsor, will be given by Dr. Wei Jiang (China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research) from 15:00, 7th July (Mon). Please register here and join us!
- 2025/06/27
[Event] IYRC SPRING 2025 held at UTokyo（Dr. VU Duc Canh）
The International Young Researchers' Conference (IYRC), which Dr. Vu Duc Canh (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) has been serving as a IYRC Coordinator since 2023, will hold In-person IYRC Spring Conference 2025 tomorrow at UTokyo. (Upper-right image: IYRC SPRING 2024.)
In-person IYRC June 28, 2025 HASEKO - KUMA HALL, The University of Tokyo
From Who we are
Virtual IYRC Juuly 26, 2025 Online
"The International Young Researchers' Conference was founded in 2018 as a platform for high school students to share their research projects with the community. Since then, the organization has expanded to include not only research, but also community projects, global health narratives, case study competitions, and student-led programming. The IYRC is an independent public benefit incorporation in Japan, but we work with students from over twenty countries. Our program would not be possible without the generous support of our university partners, high school leaders, and reviewers."- 2025/06/25
[HR] Title of Emeritus Professor in 2025 (Dr. Takizawa, Dr. Kato)
Former Director, Dr. Satoshi Takizawa and former Deputy Director, Dr. Takashi Kato, were awarded the title of Emeritus Professor for the fiscal year 2025.
- 2025/06/20
[Event] "Ecosophy: Multiple Perspectives and Its Roles in Planetary Health" (Dato' Seri Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang)
Tokyo College and RECWET will host a seminar written above by Dato' Seri Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang, former president (literally, VC) of University of Technology Malaysia (UTM), vice president of International water association, and secretary general of the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Education and so on. Please join us!
Details & Registration Profile of Dato' Seri Ir. Dr. Zaini Ujang- 2025/06/18
IFAWET-5 latest information
IFAWET-5 is scheduled to be held in Dehradun, India from August 6 to 8, and preparations are underway with support from Indian government agencies and industry. Applications for presentations will be accepted until July 15. Please participate in this opportunity to exchange research with water environment researchers in India.
Images: the destination of the technical visit, Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization（HESCO, Dehradun）- 2025/06/13
[Conference] Presentations at WaterMicro2025 (Prof. Katayama, Prof. Oguma, Project Prof. Kitajima, Project Assoc. Prof. Gomi, Dr. Vu)
At WaterMicro2025 (June 15-20, Netherlands), hosted by the IWA Specialist Group Health-related Water Microbiology, Advisory Board Member Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development) will give a presentation and roundtable discussion at a side event, Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) will be session chair and give an oral presentation, Project Assoc. Prof. Ryota Gomi (same) will give a poster presentation, and Prof. Kumiko Oguma (International Water Environment) will participate as session chair and co-author. Also, there is a presentation where Dr. Vu Duc Canh is an co-author.
● Hiroyuki Katayama："PMMoV as treatment performance indicators" 及び Roundtable discussion, Side event workshop "Viral Clues: Innovative Indicators for Detecting Fecal Pollution in Water"
● Ryota Gomi, Fumie Adachi："Genetic contexts of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes in environmental Escherichia coli", Poster 2C-3.
● Shotaro Torii, Vu Duc Canh, Shin Takahashi, Michinobu Kuwae, Masaaki Kitajima, Michio Murakami： "Usefulness of Sediment Core Samples as a Naturally Preserved Biobank Reflecting the Historical Emission of Health-Related Microorganisms", Poster 3C-14.
● Shotaro Torii, Masaaki Kitajima, Kumiko Oguma, Hiroyuki Katayama："Simultaneous detection of protozoa, bacteria and viruses in tap and river waters by membrane adsorption and direct nucleic acid extraction", Poster 3C-15.
● Surapong Rattanakul, Kumiko Oguma："Spectral Dependent UV-LEDs Inactivation Efficiencies of Enveloped and Non-enveloped Viruses", Poster 3E-13.
● Masaaki Kitajima, Michio Murakami, Hiroki Ando, Ryo Yamaguchi："Evaluating technical requirements in wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance for accurate COVID-19 incidence estimation", Oral 4B-5.- 2025/06/13
[Lecture] Japan's Next Generation Water Environment Foresight Research Forum (Prof. Kurisu)
To promote Taiwan's sustainable water environment through international exchange, Taiwan Ministry of Environment held "Japan's Next Generation Water Environment Foresight Research Forum" on June 13th for local government, industry, and academia.
The forum was not only announced and reported on Taiwan's Ministry of Environment Facebook, but was also reported in detail in Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News the following day.
At the forum, three speakers from UTokyo gave talks as experts: Prof. Futoshi Kurisu (Water Systems Management Division), and Prof. Fumiyuki Nakajima (Environmental Science Center) and Assoc. Prof. Tomohiro Tobino (Urban Engineering) who are RECWET Collaborative Members.- 2025/06/12
[Publication] Paper from a joint research with PoliTo (Assoc. Prof. Hashimoto)
The following paper by Assoc. Prof. Takashi Hashimoto (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development), Assoc. Prof. Albert Tiraferri of Politecnico di Torino, who we accepted for research in 2023, and the former Director Satoshi Takizawa has been published by Chem. Eng. Sci.
Takashi Hashimoto, Alberto Tiraferri, Satoshi Takizawa (2025) Effects of Brownian force and pore structure on the removal of nanoparticles by porous membranes, Chemical Engineering Science, 316, 122010.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2025.122010 Online Jun 12/Print Oct 1- 2025/06/10
[Publication] Paper on sustainability of Vietnamese natural rubber industry by JP and VN researchers (Prof. Syutsubo)
Prof. Kazuaki Syutsubo (International Water Environment) and the research team evaluated the sustainability of the natural rubber industry, which is expected to expand, by examining greenhouse gas emissions from energy and water consumption. A paper on the results of this collaborative research by researchers from Japan and Vietnam was published in Case Stud. Chem. Environ. Eng.
Hong Dao Nguyen Pham, Takahiro Watari, Nhu Nguyet Phan, Minh Duc Tran, Lan Huong Nguyen, Masashi Hatamoto, Kazuaki Syutsubo, Takashi Yamaguchi (2025) Energy-water usage and greenhouse gas emissions nexus of the natural rubber industry in Vietnam, Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, 12, 101245.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2025.101245 Online Jun 10/Print December- 2025/06/10
[Publication] Paper on virus removal in pre- and post-treatment of CAS/MBR as the first author (Dr. Vu Duc Canh)
A paper was published in Sci. Total Environ. by lead author Dr. Vu Duc Canh, a RECWET project researcher. The paper assessed the removal of viruses and antibiotic resistance genes in both pre- and post-treatment of conventional activated sludge (CAS) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems to reduce the health risks associated with wastewater reuse. Co-authors include Prof. Hiroyuki Katayama (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development), Project Assoc. Prof. Ikuro Kasuga (International Wastewater Epidemiology), and former RECWET researcher Tippawan Singhopon.
Vu Duc Canh, Tippawan Singhopon, Ikuro Kasuga, Hiroyuki Katayama (2025) Removal of viruses and antibiotic resistance genes in bacteriophage fraction by conventional activated sludge (CAS) and membrane bioreactor treatment (MBR) systems, Science of The Total Environment, 989, 179787.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179787 Online Jun 10/Print Aug 10- 2025/06/10
[Publication] Paper on the effect of sample pretreatment on non-target analysis as the first author (Dr. Uehara)
A paper was published in JWET by lead author Dr. Yutaro Uehara, a RECWET project researcher. In the study, the effect of sample pretreatment on the analysis was investigated on non-target analysis of dissolved organic matter in urban river water with high content of sewage effluent, using LC/HRMS. Co-authors included Prof. Futoshi Kurisu (Water Systems Management) and Assoc. Prof. Ikuro Kasuga.
Yutaro Uehara, Ikuro Kasuga, Hiroaki Furumai, Futoshi Kurisu (2025) Effect of Organic Enrichment and Desalination on Sample Pretreatment for Non-targeted Analysis of Dissolved Organic Matter in Urban River Water by LC-ESI-Orbitrap MS, Journal of Water and Environment Technology, 23(3), 155-166.
https://doi.org/10.2965/jwet.24-121 Online Jun 10- 2025/06/04
[Presentation] International Conference on Water-Energy-Food Nexus (Assoc. Prof. Hashimoto)
At the international conference held in Belgium on June 4th, Assoc. Prof. Takashi Hashimoto (Water Quality Control Technologies and Materials Development) co-authored a poster presentation. The presentation was related to the "SMART-WaterDomain" project of the JST EIG CONCERT-Japan "Smart Water Management for Sustainable Society", in which Prof. Kensuke Fukushi (United Nations University) represented Japan and Assoc. Prof. Hashimoto participated. The presenter was Dr. Serena Caucci from Germany, the overseas research representative.
● Presentation title：SMART-WaterDomain: Impact-Oriented Framework for Enhancing Water Reuse in Complex Systems
● Program (PDF)
● Event report- 2025/05/28
[Cooperated event] Hydrosphere Science Seminar #28 (Prof. Yoshimitsu Tajima)
#28 of Hydrosphere Science Seminar, which RECWET also collaborate to co-sponsor, will be given by Prof. Yoshimitsu Tajima (Dept. Civil Engineering / Water System Management Division, RECWET) from 15:00, 2nd June (Mon). Please register here and join us!
- 2025/05/26
[Publication] Paper reporting the impacts of UV-LED exposure to plasma in blood (Prof. Oguma)
The following research paper by Prof. Kumiko Oguma and Japanese Red Cross has been published online by Transfus. Med. Hemother.
Tomoya Hayashi, Yoshihiro Fujimura, Yoshihiko Sakurai, Mikako Masaki, Akihiro Fuchizaki, Kumiko Oguma, Kazuya Hosokawa, Yuichi Mishima, Mitsunobu Tanaka, Kazuta Yasui, Takafumi Kimura, Yoshihiko Tani, Fumiya Hirayama, Koki Takahashi, Yoshihiro Takihara (2025) Irradiation with 265-nm ultraviolet light-emitting diodes to plasma: Alterations of hemostatic parameters and von Willebrand factor, Transfusion Medicine and Hemotherapy.
https://doi.org/10.1159/000546169- 2025/05/22
[Publication] Review on effective wastewater treatment by multi-omics (Prof. Kurisu)
The following review paper by Prof. Futoshi Kurisu (Water Management System) and researchers from India, Mexico and USA has been published by J. Environ. Chem. Eng.
Manish Kumar, Shiwangi Dogra, Nilotpal Das, Siddhant Dash, Ashutosh Sharma, Aurea Karina Ramírez Jiménez, Alfredo Díaz Lara, Shane A Snyder, Futoshi Kurisu (2025) Unlocking Sustainability: Integrating Omics for Advanced Wastewater Treatment, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13(4), 117154.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.117154 Online Jun 22/Print August issue- 2025/05/20
[Lecture] Invited lecture at 98th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Bacteriology (Project Prof. Kitajima)
Project Prof. Masaaki Kitajima (International Wastewater-based Epidemiology) will give an invited lecture at Symposium 5(PDF) "Current Status and Future Challenges of Microbial Monitoring" at the 98th Annual Meeting of Japanese Society for Bacteriology to be held in Kanazawa City from May 29th to 31st.
Wastewater-based Epidemiology: New Research Developments in the Post-COVID Era, 第98回日本細菌学会総会, May 29, 石川県立音楽堂.
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