The Hon. Takeo Kawamura, chief of the Federation of Diet Members for the ILC (Liberal Democratic Party, House of Representatives), visited Ichinoseki City on July 9th. While he was there, Ichinoseki Mayor Osamu Katsube made the suggestion to use the former location of the NEC Platforms Office (closed in March 2019) for ILC-related purposes.

Mayor Katsube told reporters that he gave the suggestion to Hon. Kawamura that day. He said, “The old NEC building is right next to the JR Ichinoseki Station so it’s very convenient. If the ILC is realized, then we will be able to use the site in a number of different ways – perhaps as a temporary campus while the main campus is being built.”

In March, Mayor Katsube indicated the city’s desire to acquire the entire NEC site (around 9.2 hectares). In June, it was found out that the site had some contaminated soil, so the city indicated it would borrow one of the 5 buildings within the site (the 3-story #3 building) and lend it to the private sector as both office space and factory space. Mayor Katsube said he had also suggested that the #3 building, subleased to the private sector, could be used for ILC purposes.

The “Residents Passionate About Realizing the ILC” group, made up of private organizations in the Ichinoseki and Hiraizumi area, made a request to Hon. Kawamura while he was in the area: “We would like you to work hard to get the national government to take a clear stance on the ILC.”