On June 11th, the symposium “The Realization of the ILC and Development of the Surrounding Region” was held in Oshu City’s Z Hall.

This symposium was hosted by the Iwate Accelerator Related Industry Research Society and backed by a total of 25 associations, companies, municipalities and other organizations. This was the first time that the mayors of Ichinoseki City, Hiraizumi Town, Kanegasaki Town and Oshu City came together to discuss the ILC and how it related to the future vision of their communities. About 500 people filled the auditorium to hear this discussion.

Why these four cities? Look on a map and you’ll see the connection. These four communities are all on or near the ILC candidate site.

Dr. Atsuto Suzuki, President of Iwate University and former director of KEK gave a keynote speech on the ILC and community development, followed by a panel discussion between the four mayors, Dr. Suzuki, executive director of the Iwate Prefecture Office of Science and ILC Promotion Mr. Jun Sasaki and Visiting Professor Masakazu Yoshioka of Iwate and Tohoku University.

In his speech, Dr. Suzuki stressed using pre-existing buildings: using what’s already there instead of building a set of all-new things, and cited the ongoing “ILC Caravan” as a way to expand understanding of different cultures within Iwate. (See Kitakami Times #15, The ILC Caravan – Neighborhood associations in Japan)

The panel discussion covered some important and familiar themes. This region has a proud history of preserving its cultures and traditions, and its scenery and nature. In fact, because this local area has kept its scenery and culture intact that Ichinoseki, Oshu and Hiraizumi have been able to apply to register their traditional agricultural areas as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage system (a project by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization).

With the ILC, how can we protect what makes this area special, and how do we share what makes it special with new international residents, and with the world? Hiraizumi mayor Mr. Yukio Aoki mentioned a vision of an outdoor barbeque between Japanese residents and ILC researchers. Our relaxed way of life and stunning natural scenery would be a wonderful respite from work at the ILC.

This area also produces delicious agricultural products such as rice, apples and beef, and resources like timber. How do we link our products and resources to the ILC? Timber could be used to build facilities such as laboratories. As for agricultural products, Ichinoseki mayor Mr. Osamu Katsube was deeply impressed with the cafeteria at CERN, as well as the local farmer’s markets: why not have the cafeteria at the ILC use all local ingredients for an international palate?

Meanwhile Kanegasaki mayor Mr. Yoshiichi Takahashi stressed the need to work as a wider network of areas to prepare for the ILC and take advantage of each area’s strong points, while making clear the roles of the government and the private sector.

Coordinator Professor Masakazu Yoshioka of Iwate and Tohoku University pointed out an important distinction in word choice: the ILC was not something that was passively going to be built in Tohoku, but something that people in Tohoku were going to build. He is confident that Tohoku businesses are capable of taking part in the ILC. (See this new video from the Tohoku Economic Federation for a visual)

Both Ichinoseki mayor Mr. Osamu Katsube and Oshu mayor Mr. Masaki Ozawa mentioned the importance of building awareness of the ILC outside of Iwate and Tohoku: since this would be a national effort, support from Japanese people all over the country is needed. Mr. Masanori Matsuoka, Secretary General of AAA spoke to this afterward, pointing out that thus far they had held ILC events for 8,000 people throughout Japan, with very positive reactions. Chairman Yamura of the Iwate Prefecture ILC Promotion Council also cited the upcoming LCWS event in Morioka this December: they will take full advantage of this chance to raise the ILC’s profile within and without Japan.

We want the ILC. This was clear through the 500-odd participants filling the auditorium, the pictures taken of Higgs particle mascot “Higgs-kun,” and one of the liveliest Q&A sessions I’ve seen in a long time. One of the highlights of the Q&A session was the spontaneous, enthusiastic applause following Tohoku Economic Federation Managing Director Osamu Oe, who informed the audience that none other than US Ambassador Kennedy had recently spoken at the Tohoku Economic Federation’s 50th anniversary event and touched on the ILC in her speech. As US-Japan collaboration on the ILC continues to build momentum, we will continue to work for multicultural understanding, for support of the ILC throughout Japan, and for a Tohoku ready to welcome the ILC.