Ichinoseki and the International Linear Collider／一関市とILC
Walking or driving around Ichinoseki City, you may come across a banner or sign featuring the letters “ILC.”
These are messages of support for the International Linear Collider (ILC), a proposed next-generation particle accelerator designed to study fundamental particles and the laws of physics.
The proposed ILC would be built underground in the Kitakami mountain range, which extends across southern Iwate Prefecture and into neighboring Miyagi Prefecture. The region has strong, stable granite bedrock that is considered well suited to the construction of a large accelerator and to maintaining the low-vibration environment required for precision experiments.
The ILC is currently planned to begin with an approximately 20-kilometer underground tunnel, with the possibility of being extended to around 50 kilometers in the future.
The Kitakami mountain range was selected as Japan's domestic candidate site for the ILC in 2013.
If the ILC project goes ahead, it could bring researchers, engineers, students and their families from Japan and around the world to the Tohoku region, contributing to the development of an international research community and a more internationally connected local society.
Ichinoseki City continues to promote the realization of the ILC as a national project and works with organizations in the region to support the project.
For more information about the ILC and Ichinoseki's activities, please visit Ichinoseki City's English ILC website.