Three large bathymetric highs (from north to south: the Amami Plateau, the Daito Ridge, and the Oki-Daito Ridge) originating from paleo-island arcs characterize the northwestern end of the Philippine Sea plate. We obtained 10 seismic refraction and multi-channel seismic reflection profiles across and along these bathymetric highs and obtained P wave velocity (Vp) models of the crust and the uppermost mantle. Although there are large variations in the crustal structure throughout this region, these bathymetric highs usually have a middle crust with Vp of 6.3 to 6.8 km/s, a lower crust with Vp of 6.8 to 7.2 km/s, a Pn velocity of 7.6 to 7.8 km/s, and a total crustal thickness of 15 to 25 km. These features are similar to those of the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana island arc and the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, which are immature paleo-island arcs. However, the crust at the southwestern part of the Oki-Daito Ridge contains a relatively thin middle crust and a smaller total crustal thickness compared with other ridges in this region. In addition, we identified a deep reflector beneath the ridge, with these properties indicating a different origin, such as intraplate volcanism.

Seismic refraction and reflection measurements were made along three profiles across the Shikoku Basin, one of the three backarc basins on the Philippine Sea plate. The P-wave velocity models show the presence of a very large horizontal irregularity related to the seamounts on the extinct spreading center, transition zones from the Shikoku Basin to Kyushu-Palau Ridge, and from the Shikoku Basin to the Izu-Ogasawara Island arc. However, the other areas were found to have features similar to those of a normal oceanic crustal model composed of oceanic Layer 2 with a high velocity gradient and Layer 3 with a small velocity gradient. The Shikoku backarc basin oceanic crust was found to be characterized by a thinner igneous crust, especially in Layer 3, and the azimuthal anisotropy in the uppermost mantle expected from the seafloor spreading was not detected.

The Ryukyu (Nansei-Shoto) island arc-trench system, southwest of Japan, is formed by the subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) plate. Among the subduction zones surrounding the Japan Islands, the Ryukyu arc-trench system is unique in that its backarc basin, the Okinawa Trough, is the area with current extensively active rifting. The length of the trench is around 1400 km, and the geological and geophysical characteristics vary significantly along the trench axis. We conducted multichannel seismic (MCS) reflection and wide-angle seismic surveys to elucidate the along-arc variation in seismic structures from the island arc to the trench regions, shooting seven seismic lines across the arctrench system and two along-arc lines in the island arc and the forearc areas. The obtained P-wave velocity models of the Ryukyu arc crust were found to be heterogeneous (depending on the seismic lines), but they basically consist of upper, middle, and lower crusts, indicating a typical island arc structure. Beneath the bathymetric depressions cutting the island arc-for example, the Kerama Gap and the Miyako Saddle-the MCS record shows many across-arc normal faults, which indicates the presence of an extensional regime along the island arc. In the areas from the forearc to the trench, the subduction of the characteristic seafloor features on the PHS plate affects seismic structures; the subducted bathymetric high of the Amami Plateau is detected in the northern trench: the Luzon-Okinawa fracture zone beneath the middle and southern trenches. There are low-velocity (<~4.5 km/s) wedges along the forearc areas, except for off Miyako-jima Island. The characteristic high gravity anomaly at the forearc off Miyako-jima Island is caused not by a bathymetric high of a large-scale accretionary wedge but by shallower materials with a high P-wave velocity of ~4.5 km/s.

We present detailed P-wave velocity models for the Northwest Pacific Basin which were produced in 154-160 Ma at a high seafloor spreading half-rate of >8 cm/yr and have not been appreciably deformed by tectonic or igneous activity since then. We carried out wide-angle seismic experiments on two crossing survey lines which are respectively parallel and perpendicular to paleomagnetic lineations. The seismic crustal models for both lines are almost identical and homogeneous along these lines. The crust consists of an upper layer (Layer 2) with a P-wave velocity V p = 2.5-6.8 km/s and a thickness of 1.3-2.2 km, and a lower layer (Layer 3) with a velocity of 6.8-7.1 km/s and a thickness of 4.6-5.9 km. These characteristics indicate that the crust beneath the survey line has a standard oceanic crustal structure. The structure of the uppermost mantle of the line parallel to the seafloor spreading direction exhibits considerable V p heterogeneity within 5 km immediately below the Moho and shows an unusually high V p of 8.5-8.7 km/s. The P n velocity for the perpendicular line is 7.9 km/s, and the magnitude of the velocity anisotropy for the uppermost mantle amounts to a large value of 7-10%.

The Okinawa Trough, to the southwest of Kyusyu, Japan, is an active backarc basin of the Ryukyu (Nansei-Shoto) island arc-trench system caused by the Philippine Sea plate subduction. Unlike other backarc basins around Japan, the Okinawa Trough, ~ 1000 km in length, is unique because the crustal thinning due to backarc rifting is currently in progress in the entire trough. We conducted extensive seismic reflection and refraction surveys to detect detailed variation in seismic structures associated with the rifting tectonics. Seventeen seismic lines were shot, including ten across-trough and seven along-trough lines in the Okinawa Trough. Moho depths estimated mainly from PmP travel times indicate that the crust beneath the trough is thinner than that below the East China Sea shelf and the Ryukyu Island Arc. The shallowest Moho of the across-trough lines was not necessarily detected at the center of the trough, defined as the deepest water depth, but was located beneath the western margin of the northern and middle Okinawa Trough. An M7.1 earthquake occurred in the area on November 14, 2015, and intense aftershock activity was observed along the western margin of the trough. These earthquakes with extension axes of northwest-southeast direction demonstrated that the area is undergoing tectonic rifting. The Moho depth is over 25 km in the northern region of the Okinawa Trough and decreases down to ~ 13 km as it goes to the south, and the thinnest crust of ~ 7 km occurs beneath the Yaeyama Rift in the southern Okinawa Trough. Despite the crustal thinning by the backarc rifting, the P wave velocity models across the Okinawa Trough show that the continental/island arc crust composed of an upper, middle, and lower crusts is continuous between the East China Sea shelf and the Ryukyu Arc. The multichannel seismic profiles along and across the rifts in the southern Okinawa Trough show more volcanic intrusions in the southern side than in the north, which may be related to the position of the volcanic front, which is undetermined in this region.

P-wave velocity models related to the Philippine Sea plate subduction have been obtained from seismic explorations at the northern end of the Nansei-Shoto (Ryukyu) Trench. Both multi-channel seismic reflection and ocean bottom seismographic records provide clear images of the rough seafloor topography and irregular P-wave velocity structure of the northwestern extension of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge and Amami Plateau below the landward trench slope. Low velocity (V p ≤ 4-5 km/s) and thick (>7 km) materials above the plate boundary characterize the landward trench slope structure. An exception to this is found where the subducting plate contacts higher velocity (V p > 5 km/s) materials of the landward plate at the estimated position of the seismic asperity of 1968 Hyuganada earthquake (M w 7.5).

The role of seamounts on interplate earthquakes has been debated. However, its impact on intraslab deformation is poorly understood. Here we present unexpected evidence for large normal‐fault earthquakes intersecting the slab just ahead of a subducting seamount. In 1995, a series of earthquakes with maximum magnitude of 7.1 occurred in northern Ryukyu where oceanic plateaus are subducting. The aftershock distribution shows that conjugate faults with an unusually high dip angle of 70–80° ruptured the entire subducting crust. Seismic reflection images reveal that the plate interface is displaced over 1 km along one of the fault planes of the 1995 events. These results suggest that a lateral variation in slab buoyancy can produce sufficient differential stress leading to near‐vertical normal‐fault earthquakes within the slab. On the contrary, the upper surface of the seamount (plate interface) may correspond to a weakly coupled region, reflecting the dual effects of seamounts/plateaus on subduction earthquakes.

We present detailed P-wave velocity models of subducting seamounts from two wide-angle seismic experiments across the Erimo Seamount and Daiichi-Kashima Seamount, northern and southern ends of the Japan Trench. Common characteristics of the velocity models of the seamounts are that the maximum crustal thicknesses of the seamounts are 12-17 km thicker than a typical oceanic crust and that P n velocities beneath the seamounts are approximately 7.7 km/s, i.e., slower then those of the neighboring area. These features are very similar to the crustal models for the seamounts produced by the Cretaceous off-ridge volcanism on the Pacific Basin.