The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), which was launched in the end of November 1997 as a Japan-U.S. joint mission, is the first satellite mission whose objective is entirely focused on measuring “rainfall” accurately.  TRMM is valued highly not only for scientific data it provides, but also for the successful collaboration as an international project.
“Rainfall” directly relates to our daily life. Furthermore, recent studies indicate the possibility that the distribution and variation of rainfall will be influenced by the climate change and global warming, which is one of the key questions of growing concern.
In this symposium, we will touch on various topics of general interest.  Among many results derived from the ten-year observation of TRMM, we introduce some characteristics and behavior of “rainfall”, findings about the rainfall distribution as water resources, and application of TRMM data to issues of public concerns through weather forecasts and flood predictions.  We will also discuss the significance of rainfall measurement from satellite, its contribution to society, and the perspective on global precipitation measurement in the future.