On July 17th, eight organizations from southern Iwate and northern Miyagi held the first meeting of their liaison council for the ILC in a hotel in Ichinoseki City. Currently, the national government is considering whether or not to host the ILC, so these organizations crossed prefectural borders to become a unified front that will carry out efforts to increase enthusiasm for the project.
Thirty people were in attendance from the various organizations. Fumio Ube, deputy director of the Tohoku ILC Promotion Council, vowed, “The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology stated that they had an interest in the ILC in March at an international conference. Since that time, the situation has really moved forward. We would like to go on to increase our unity with the various regions involved, and work towards the realization of the ILC.”
In a private session, the organizations presented their various activities and held an opinion exchange. According to the Tohoku ILC Promotion Council, one of the participants voiced their opinion that, “We must do even more to publicize the ILC, using all the opportunities available to us.”
The liaison council will go on to hold meetings once every two months or so. They plan to hold symposiums to garner up more enthusiasm for the ILC, and will draw up further plans for their activities. Yoshihiro Kanno, director at the Ichinoseki Chamber of Commerce and who also runs the “Residents Passionate About Realizing the ILC” group (Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi area), vowed, “It was wonderful that all the organizations got to meet directly and exchange information. We will match their pace in conveying just how passionate the region is for the ILC.”
The other organizations besides the “Residents Passionate About Realizing the ILC” group are as follows:
-Oshu City ILC Liaison Council (Iwate)
-Ofunato City ILC Promotion Council (Iwate)
-Kesen Region Liaison Council of Commercial Organizations (Iwate)
-Rikuzentakata City ILC Promotion Council (Iwate)
-Kurihara City ILC Promotion Council (Miyagi)
-Tome City ILC Promotion Council (Miyagi)
-Kesennuma City ILC Promotion Council (Miyagi)