Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition

The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (南極地域観測隊, Nankyoku chiiki kansoku-tai; JARE) refers to a series of Japanese Antarctic expeditions for scientific research.

A coin of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, with Taro and Jiro

History

The first JARE expedition was launched in 1957 to coordinate with the International Geophysical Year. This was the team which left 15 dogs, including Taro and Jiro, behind after an emergency evacuation in February 1958.

Expeditions to the Antarctic took place from 1968 to 1977, and ice cores were drilled on these expeditions, mostly at Mizuho.^[1]

A later instance was an ecological expedition studying the ecosystems near Showa Station in Antarctica. The project was first undertaken in February 1986. It was associated with the international BIOTAS program,^{[clarification needed]} which also launched in 1986. Taxonomical studies of some organisms (particularly plants and small animals) were carried out by the expedition.

The current research expedition is "60th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition" (第60次南極地域観測隊, Dai Rokuju-ji Nankyoku chiiki kansoku-tai) and began in November 2018 as part of the "Japanese Antarctic Research Project Phase IX".^[2]