On his October 8th periodic press conference, Governor Takuya Tasso of Iwate stated that he expected that “discussions at the central government level will proceed forward” regarding the proposal on ILC cost-sharing prepared by KEK’s international working group.

The working group was made up of researchers from Japan, USA, Germany, France, and India. They proposed that civil engineering costs associated with constructing the ILC be the responsibility of Japan as host country, and that costs for the accelerator and other experimental facilities be shared among member countries. Governor Tasso praised this, saying, “If talks go according to that proposal, then that’s how the cost-sharing will be decided. This is a beginning that will lead to a conclusion.” As the local government of the ILC candidate site, he said, “Iwate will increase awareness of the project among the people of Japan, and ask for the national government to make the ILC a reality as quickly as possible.”