On December 19th, Diet members of both ruling (LDP) and opposition parties stated that they would strengthen their calls on the national government to host the ILC, taking into account the final report by the Science Council of Japan.

Hon. Takeo Kawamura, head of the non-partisan Federation of Diet Members for the ILC (LDP, House of Representatives, Yamaguchi 3rd district), said in response to the report: “It is important that they recognized the scientific case for the ILC, as well as how important it would be for Japan to contribute to joint international research.” Furthermore, he stressed, “We will work to gain the understanding of the people of Japan, including working on points raised by the SCJ. We will continue to do everything in our power to realize the ILC.”

Hon. Shunichi Suzuki, vice-chair of the FDMILC (LDP, House of Representatives, Iwate 2nd district) said, “It is unfortunate that there were some parts not written as we had hoped. We will continue to work hard so that the national government will voice that they have an interest in hosting the ILC and will begin international negotiations on cost-sharing.”

Hon. Takashi Fujiwara (LDP, House of Representatives, proportional representative of Tohoku) stressed, “The ILC will be the first project of its kind in Japan, and could have an impact on the reconstruction from the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. In that way, it will have effects that cannot be evaluated in a scientific sense. Now that the ball is back in the politician’s court, we will work hard to persuade the national government.”

Hon. Takeshi Shina of the Democratic Party for the People (House of Representatives, Iwate 1st district) said, “I accept their report, but there were many points I didn’t agree with, and this is not what will be the final decision. The ILC will have good economic effects, and is important in many ways, so I will do my utmost to bring this to a favorable conclusion.”

Hon. Ichiro Ozawa of the Liberal Party (House of Representatives, Iwate 3rd district) commented, “The ILC is a tremendous project that will explore the mysteries of the origins of the universe. Everyone knew that it would come with a corresponding tremendous price tag. The national government should take into account what it will do for the reconstruction from the 2011 disaster, and make a firm decision.”