The world’s largest amphibian, the Japanese Giant Salamander, has been considered a special national monument, and its population is now centered around the Chugoku region. Surveys conducted over the past 12 years have shown that Higashihiroshima City has a high population of Japanese Giant Salamanders and possesses natural breeding burrows which are crucial for conservation. However, several problems have become apparent: juveniles cannot survive in the environment, healthy reproduction is restricted due to weirs, and the recent heavy rains have caused runoff downstream.

Furthermore, in 2022, a large number of hybrids between the non-native Chinese Giant Salamander and the Japanese Giant Salamander have been discovered. This new hybrid species has spread rapidly, especially in the Kansai region, and in the Kamo River system in Kyoto. It was first confirmed that 98% of the existing species have been replaced by hybrid species within 30 to 40 years of their introduction. The conservation of native species of the Japanese Giant Salamander is an urgent issue now more than ever. Thus, this species must be studied extensively to create proper conservation measures to be implemented immediately. 

To address this, Hiroshima University established the Japanese Giant Salamander Conservation Project Research Center last May 1. This research center will bring together researchers who possess field research techniques, DNA analysis, environmental DNA, and other technologies as well as experience in education and information dissemination. 

At a press conference held on the same day at the Kiteminsai Lab, Associate Professor Norio Shimizu of the Hiroshima University Museum shed light on the challenges facing the Japanese Giant Salamander and expressed his hopes for the project. 

"By protecting the giant salamander at the top of the river ecosystem, we will help protect the diversity of living creatures and the richness of Japan's nature,” said Shimizu.