Keynote Speech (English Translation)
byTakeo Kawamura
Member of the House of Representatives
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I’m honored to be here and to speak about the ILC.
I am Takeo Kawamura, a member of the House of Representatives. I serve as Chair of themulti-party Federation of Diet Members for the ILC. Joining me here today from theFederation are Hon. Shun-ichi Suzuki, Vice-Chair of the Federation, and Hon. HinakoTakahashi. Today I’m pleased to extend my greetings to you on behalf of the Federation.
Five years ago, the Tohoku area suffered unprecedented damage from the catastrophic
earthquake. Since then, I have visited the Tohoku area, many times, and I am beginning to see
the return of hope. Our government will continue to make great efforts to restore the Tohoku
area. Some of the major issues Japan is facing are the restoration from the Earthquake, andhow to bring about domestic growth and regional revitalization. They are part of myresponsibilities in my party.
Education and science and technology are among the most important issues for the growth ofJapan and the rest of the world. It is crucial for our country to become increasinglyinternationalized, to develop the nation from its various regions, to promote science andtechnology, and to cultivate persons with challenging spirits. The ILC has great potential tofulfill these agendas and to become a model case for resolving issues throughinternationalization.
Our Federation was founded in 2006 under the leadership of Chairman Kaoru Yosano,initially within the Liberal Democratic Party, and became a multi-party federation in 2008,
and has now expanded to about 160 Diet members. When I was Chief Cabinet Secretary
under Prime Minister Aso, a meeting of 7 Ministers was held at the Prime Minister’s Office tolearn about the ILC. Nobel Laureate Prof. Koshiba was invited to the meeting.
Among the members were Hon. Yosano, who was Minister of Finance, Hon. Nakasone, whowas Minister of Foreign Affairs and is now working on US-Japan cooperation on ILC as
Chairman of the Japan-US Parliamentary League, Hon. Shionoya, who was Minister ofEducation, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and is the Director-General of ourFederation, as well as Hon. Nikai, who was Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and isthe current Secretary-General of the Liberal Democratic Party. This meeting has triggered themajor political involvement for the realization of the ILC.
Eight years ago, I had the opportunity to speak at an international conference for linear
colliders in Sendai. We have made major progress since in the research and technology, andparticularly in politics.
The Director for Particle and Nuclear Research Promotion from MEXT is joining us today
amid the ongoing budget negotiation with the Ministry of Finance. At MEXT and the Ministryof Foreign Affairs, many, including the Ministers, have been working hard to advance thediscussions within the Japanese government and between nations.
The official government-level consideration of the ILC began two years ago. This spring,
parliamentary and governmental discussions between the U.S. and Japan began as well.
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Furthermore, in these two months, we began communication with parliament members from
Europe and Asia.
Prime Minister Abe, in his speech at the National Diet, referred to accelerators as drivers forinnovation, along with the oft-mentioned space and ocean development. The word ILC cameup numerous times in the National Diet amid the questions and answers exchanged involvingthe Prime Minister, MEXT Minister, and others.
In these few years, we are intensifying our efforts to create an international environment
suitable for realizing the ILC.
The ILC is an international project which cannot function without the collaboration of many
countries. Triggered by the completion of the ILC Technical Design Report at the end of 2012,
the Federation responded immediately in January 2013 to strengthen international
collaboration. After Prof. Koshiba and Prof. Lyn Evans paid a courtesy visit to Prime Minister
Abe, Hon. Shionoya and I visited Washington DC, and there, we had first-time discussions
with Congress members and staff about the ILC. This was followed by many discussions withCongress members and high-ranking officials from the US government.
The movement picked up speed last year. In particular, when Prime Minister Abe spoke in ajoint session of Congress, which was a first in Japanese history, Hon. Shionoya and I, as wellas Hon. Suzuki here travelled to the U.S. to witness this memorable event.
During this period, we held discussions with Dr. John Holdren, senior advisor to President
Obama on science and technology, and Dr. Ernest Moniz, Secretary of Energy, as well as
Congress members who specialize in science and technology and US-Japan cooperation,
about strengthening US-Japan relations in the fields of space, energy, accelerators, and others.
In particular, dedicated discussions about the ILC continued in Tokyo and Washington. Cometo think of it, I visited Washington in December last year.
In February of this year, Hon. Shionoya, Hon. Suzuki, and Hon. Otsuka visited the U.S. alongwith a high-ranking officer from MEXT, and held discussions with the Director of Office ofScience, Department of Energy, and in May, it was agreed to start the US-Japan joint
discussion group about the ILC.
The Federation receives continuous updates from MEXT about the US-Japan discussion
group for the ILC. The US-Japan collaboration on cost reduction will start, as the first task
towards the realization of the ILC.
Movement also began in Europe and Asia. At the Inter-Parliament Union held in Zambia thisyear, Hon. Suzuki here met with parliament members from Europe to discuss about the ILC.
The results of these efforts became visible in October of this year.
First, a meeting with important members of the German Parliament was held in Tokyo. Then,at the Inter-Parliament Union in Geneva, a meeting took place with a Parliament member ofIndia.
Furthermore, at the IEEE conference in Strasbourg, two members of the Federation, Hon. Itoand Hon. Shina, participated in discussions about efforts in Japan to realize the ILC as well as
strategies for cooperation between Europe and Japan. This event was facilitated thanks to
many of you in Europe. As there were many participants from Europe, US, Russia, China, andmany other countries at IEEE, I am sure many of you here were also present. Among those2

present include a former minister and former longtime member of the European Parliament,
who agreed to help us connect with other Parliament members. This success owes to thecooperation and support of everyone involved.
Starting with the US and Japan, we now have an entry point to the governments andparliaments in Europe and in Asia. But the main part of the battle is just ahead of us. Cost
reduction is an especially pressing and challenging issue, which must be surmounted byworldwide efforts.
The ITER project, which I worked on as Minister of MEXT, was realized by significantly
reducing the original cost. For Japan and other countries, the lower the costs are, the faster thenegotiations would progress and hence the faster the realization. Thus it is of utmost
importance to reduce the cost. However, we cannot afford to spend too much time on cost
reduction. What will happen next year will be critical. Though many hard decisions will haveto be made, it is our hope that prospects and direction will be shown in a timely manner.
It is also important to recognize the significance of fundamental science. And the mostimportant of all is to share that with the society. When the Federation was first established,
Prof. Koshiba told us the following: “I am truly grateful to have support for fundamental
science from so many Diet members, even though it does not attract money or election votes.”
While it is true indeed that fundamental science does not directly produce money, we havecome to appreciate through many years of studying that it gives rise to far more valuable
things than just money. At present, there are about 160 Diet members involved in thisFederation.
It is often difficult to convince the general public about the usefulness of fundamental science.
However, we mustn't forget that without fundamental science, there would be no televisions,refrigerators, computers, nor cellular phones, and neither would there be medical technologies.
The ILC is anticipated to give rise to many spinoffs from its accelerator and sensor
technologies. However, I think there is something even more important.
Prof. Osumi, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year, has repeatedly
stressed that "Society would fail if it only measured science by its usefulness. I hope for asociety which views fundamental science with more room in its heart." I believe his words are
directly relevant to the ILC as well.
Though our lives will not be immediately altered by unlocking the mysteries of how ouruniverse came to be, a question common to all humankind, the growth of people andtechnologies are driven by the very act of taking on this challenge.
The power of science and technology, in particular fundamental science, lies in its ability toshape human history, to cultivate people with inquisitive minds, and give back to the society
the knowledge and technologies developed in this process. The greatest value of the ILC liesin this point.
At present, under the steady leadership of Prime Minister Abe, the public and private sectors
are working together to take on the challenges of the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, as well as
the plans for stability and steady growth after that. Our mindset is to internationalize thiscountry and to grow together with the rest of the world.
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We are constantly thinking of what Japan, with its stable political administration, can do tocontribute in terms of international cooperation.
I am sure there are many of you here in the audience from the UK or the US. The results of
the UK referendum on Brexit and the US presidential election show a global tendency tofocus inward, and to shy away from international cooperation. I am much concerned about
this.
Behind these issues are conflicts related to immigration and differences in race, religion, orculture – a “Clash of Civilizations” as foreseen by Prof. Samuel Huntington in his book from1996. There are various civilizations in the world such as the Western, Hindu, Chinese,Islamic, and Latin American civilizations. His book predicted the problems occurring today
between the different civilizations. In this book, Japan is described as having its own distinct
civilization. We are constantly thinking, from a political viewpoint, of how Japan can help
bring harmony to the world.
One answer is to bring harmony to the world through science, a language and culture common
to all humankind. This is a new way for Japan to open itself to the world.
Science is indeed the language to bring the world together. At CERN, many scientists comefrom all corners of the world with political and ideological differences. The fact that they cancollaborate is proof that science can bring harmony.
President-Elect Mr. Trump has called for “America First” during his campaign. Now is thetime for us in Japan to propose something different: “Science First” – The ILC will be itssymbol!
It would be a marvelous thing if Japan could be the place to bring the world together byscience. With “Science First” as our slogan, we hope to work with the world to provide aplace for science and innovation. As Prof. Huntington said, Japan has its own distinct
civilization. And I’m certain that we can play a leading role in this endeavor.
This the very reason why Japan wishes to bring the world together by “Science First”. I think
the ILC will be at the core of the flow of science through the history of humankind.
You are probably used to thinking that the ILC is where collisions take place. Don’t forgetthat it will also bring harmony to the world.
Harmony is at the heart of the country of the rising sun. Let the ILC be the ray of hope toshine the world.
Thank you, and again, “Science First” with ILC!
Thank you very much.

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