The Morioka Regional Development Bureau (Director General Yasuki Asanuma) held a seminar on the International Linear Collider (ILC) on the 7th at the Kokaido Public Hall in Uchimaru, Morioka City. Rika Takahashi, technical specialist at Japan’s High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK), helmed the seminar for city residents, which deepened understanding of the ILC as well as stoked further enthusiasm for making the project a reality in Iwate.

In attendance were about 40 civil servants and residents of the area. “The ILC is a device that will help humanity understand things we don’t understand yet: the universe and mechanisms of nature,” Ms. Takahashi explained. “The support of this region and the rest of the country is crucial for bringing the ILC to the area. Children will gain an interest in the sciences because of the foreign scientists that will reside of the area.” She also stressed the need for increasing awareness of the ILC among young people, as today’s middle and high school students may be leading ILC research by the time the facility is created.

Masanao Nakamura of Kita-matsuzono, Morioka City, gave his impression. “I learned about the significance and future possibilities of the ILC, but I did feel that they are taking too long to urge the national government to take on the project.”