The Disaster Prevention Research Center was completed in April 2005 during the five-year (FY2004–2008) subsidized initiative “research and development in utilizing earthquake information and creating disaster prevention centers to enhance local disaster prevention” under the High-tech Research Center project for private universities, an effort led by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to encourage academic-industrial collaboration. Located in Japan’s most earthquake-prone region, it supports research to improve disaster management capacity at the many leading Japanese companies located in the Tokai area through joint industrial-academic projects.

Along with the Seismic Resistance Experiment Center and Eco-electric Power Research Center (both of which were also selected under MEXT’s High-tech Research Center project for private universities), the Disaster Prevention Research Center plays a major role in the advancement of education and research at AIT.
The center is expected to serve as a training ground for junior researchers, particularly graduate students in AIT master’s and doctoral programs. It also actively appoints post-doctoral researchers to help develop the next generation of scientists.
Universities have a responsibility to give back to the community, offering their research findings to local residents, children, and municipalities. Because the Disaster Prevention Research Center was established for the express purpose of regional disaster prevention, there is an even greater demand for community contribution—and it has in fact delivered significant outcomes in this regard.
In addition, should an earthquake strike, the university will establish its emergency headquarters at the center, which gives the facility a major role as a think tank for Aichi Institute of Technology and Nagoya Denki Education Foundation disaster management operations. This includes preparing evacuation maps, training incoming students in disaster prevention, planning emergency drills, and so on.