The Iwate Future-Design Organization (a group joining together industry, academia, and government) held its first round table of the fiscal year at a Morioka hotel on July 8th. There, they exchanged opinions on the creation of a hub of international research.

Seven panelists were on stage, including Governor of Iwate Takuya Tasso. The theme of the discussion was “Creating a hub of international research and encouraging innovation,” and they talked about the merits and current status of the ILC project.

Masahiro Takahashi (representative of the Iwate Association of Corporate Executives) talked about how the ILC will lead to the development of new facilities and the surrounding environment: “We can expect this to lead to a more powerful manufacturing industry as a whole, and a rise in wages.” Governor Tasso said, “Researchers from around the world have come to the area to see the candidate site. There are also companies that have started to work on accelerator-related projects. We are already building an environment where one can start researching, developing, and innovating.”

On the other hand, not many know about the ILC project outside of Iwate. Director Masaru Tomita of the Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio University, gave a seminar where he said, “We must work on talking about the ILC in ways that are easier to understand, like talking about what’s so interesting about the ILC, and what’s exciting about it.”