In order to increase enthusiasm for the ILC project, the Yoshigasawa Neighborhood Association in the Hada area of Mizusawa, Oshu City (Chairman Sato, Members: 30 families) created a PR billboard for the ILC along with a local sign manufacturer. On February 25th, an unveiling ceremony was held by national road 397, which connects to the Japanese candidate site for the ILC in the Kitakami mountains. At the ceremony, the people of the neighborhood celebrated its completion, and wished for a swift realization of the ILC.

Around 30 people attended the ceremony, including members and invited guests of the Yoshigasawa Neighborhood Association, the Hada Regional Promotion Council, and the Oshu City ILC Promotion Division. Chair Sato greeted attendees, and said, “We created this billboard to support the ILC effort. This is a small neighborhood of 30 households but should the ILC become a reality, this symbol of pride will exist very close to us. Let’s not leave all the cheering on to this billboard.”

Also invited to the ceremony was Oshu Mayor Masaki Ozawa. “The ten-year-olds of today will have graduated university by the time the ILC is completed and starts particle experiments. The closest shinkansen station to the accelerator will be the JR Mizusawa-Esashi station, and so the researchers should see this wonderful scenery as they commute to the ILC facilities,” he said, wishing for the future.

The billboard was put together by the neighborhood association and Makoto Onodera, a resident of Yoshigasawa who is also the representative director of Atom Koubou Sign Design & Promotion (located in the Noda area of Mizusawa, Oshu). It is the largest billboard for the ILC in Oshu, at 1.5 meters tall and 9.7 meters wide. In the middle, “Bring the ILC to Tohoku – Oshu City is walking forward with the ILC” is written in Japanese and English. There is also a message that says, “We too are supporting a swift realization of the ILC!!” With the help of the Oshu City Office, they also added an image of the ILC, a map of Iwate and Miyagi that shows the ILC’s position, and a QR code that can be used to find more ILC information.

The Yoshigasawa neighborhood is to the east of the Mizusawa-Esashi station, and borders with the Tawara area of Esashi, Oshu. Chair Sato said that by installing the billboard by national road 397, “we will use its effects to help punch up the effort for the ILC.”