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Ichinoseki high school students chat with the mayor

Sharing thoughts on the ILC: Ichinoseki high school students chat with the mayor

(translation of article from the front page of the Iwate Nichinichi newspaper, Tuesday, January 17. Original article in Japanese can be seen in the link at bottom)

 

Third-year science and math students at Ichinoseki Daiichi Senior High School, Hironobu Asari and Ryota Konno, both 18 years old, made a visit to the Ichinoseki City Office on Monday to chat with mayor Osamu Katsube about the International Linear Collider (ILC).

 

The candidate site in Japan for the ILC, a next-generation particle accelerator, is in the Kitakami Mountains of Iwate Prefecture and the boys expressed their enthusiasm for it to become a reality, saying it is “key to (the development of) Iwate and the Tohoku region.” Mayor Katsube was moved by the comments, saying they were very reassuring and pledged to continue the exchange of opinion, and further the drive to bring the ILC to fruition.

 

It was the first time for the students to chat with the mayor, which came about after they contacted him with thoughts of what they could do to help make the ILC happen. Junko Onodera, head of Ichinoseki’s ILC Promotion Division, also sat in on the discussion.

 

Hironobu Asari said: “The ILC will be key to town development, I want it to come for sure. Most people are still just taking in information, there are few people putting information out themselves or moving to bring the ILC to fruition. It’s not just up to the government; we want to show that the people are also willing to help.”

 

On hearing this Mayor Katsube said: “there’s been a sense of ‘I hope it comes’ and I haven’t seen much of trying to bring it here to date. That you think in such a way is very reassuring.” The three chatted for over an hour, talking about efforts in Japan and abroad to make the ILC a reality, and deepening mutual understanding.

 

Ryota Konno, who aims to become a researcher of elementary particle physics, said after the chat: “I want to be involved in ILC research. Mayor Katsube explained to us how the region would be involved with the ILC, and I learned again how it would lead to invigoration of the Tohoku region as a whole.”

 

Photo: Chatting about the ILC, from right: Mayor Osamu Katsube, Hironobu Asari, and Ryota Konno.

 

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Wanting to work at the ILC: Ichinoseki high school students chat with the mayor

(translation of article from page 19 of the Iwate Nippo newspaper, Tuesday, January 17. Original article in Japanese can be seen in the link at bottom)

 

Hironobu Asari and Ryota Konno, third-year students at Ichinoseki Daiichi Senior High School, visited the Ichinoseki City Office on Monday to have a chat with mayor Osamu Katsube about the International Linear Collider (ILC), which may be realized and built in the Kitakami Mountains in the south of Iwate Prefecture. Mayor Katsube pledged that Ichinoseki City would collaborate with the high school in efforts to bring the ILC to fruition.

 

The beginning of the chat was open to reporters, during which Hironobu expressed his eagerness for the ILC to become a reality, saying: “With the help of the city, I hope we can do something and get the public involved.” Mayor Katsube replied: “Residents and people in industry are not pro-active in bringing about the ILC. I want the city to get information out about how people can get involved.”

 

Hironobu said after the chat: “I hope we can get high school students involved in some activity, and have it continued by students in the years below us.” Ryota, who will study at Tohoku University’s Faculty of Science from April, said: “In the future I want to do work concerned with elementary particles, and if possible, do research at the ILC. The mayor explained to us how the city would develop if the ILC comes, and it was a meaningful chat.”

 

The exchange between the students and the mayor came about after Hironobu sent the mayor a message via Facebook, asking if there was anything high school students could do to help bring about the ILC.


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