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Welcome speech of the NIFS
Director-General for ITC-15
2005.12.6

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen, and distinguished guests.

 It is my pleasant duty to extend to all of you a sincere welcome. First of all, on behalf of the organizing committee, I would like to express many thanks to you for visiting Toki and getting together to attend the 15th International Toki Conference. It is my great honor to serve as the chairman of the conference.

 The "International Toki Conference (ITC)" was initiated in 1989 when the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS) was established. Since then, the ITC has been held almost each year at Toki City with strong support from the City Government. It is my great honor to introduce to you Mr. Yasuo Tsukamoto, Mayor of Toki City, today attending this opening session and giving us a welcome address. Each year, the ITC conference has focused on a current topic related to nuclear fusion research and plasma physics. This year, "Fusion and Advanced Technologies" is the main subject of the ITC. The ITC15 is trying to focus on the results of advanced technologies especially superconductivity, cryogenics, and fusion reactor systems development, which are indispensable to develop fusion research and experiments.

 Fusion research requires a strong integration of science and technology. During these two decades, fortunately great progress has been made visible both in plasma physics and fusion technology areas. Reactor relevant plasma parameters with high temperatures of over 10keV have been successfully realized by toroidal magnetic traps such as Tokamaks and Helical devices. The next step is obviously the high ƒÀ, long-pulse and steady-state experiments. This target is clearly defined by the ITER Broader Approach view, and the world research frontier is being focused on this point. The Japanese fusion program may greatly contribute this also. In practice, LHD is exactly demonstrating steady-state high temperature plasmas utilizing its inherent advantage of a helically shaped superconducting coil system. The world record for plasma heating energy of 1.3 GJ was successfully attained by a 30 minutes discharge last year.

 In this summer, the site of ITER was finally decided to be Cadarache in France. The activity of international collaboration will be accelerated through the construction and operation of ITER. And SC technology may play a key role. Now, I am very glad to mention that great progress has been made in this area and a lot of engineering knowledge has already been accumulated through the construction and operation of SC devices, such as Tore Supra, TRIAM1-M, and LHD. They have been demonstrating their robustness as superconducting systems. Following them, new SC fusion devices are being constructed in the world, which are Wendelstein 7-X Germany, KSTAR Korea, EAST China, and SST-1 India. While each device has its own original feature to achieve a certain objective, an accumulated design and construction data base is forming the common knowledge which is necessary to move forward to the next step DEMO fusion reactor.

 Against such a background, I think, it is timely to have ITC15 focused on "Fusion and Advanced Technologies". I expect that it will provide opportunities to trigger and renew collaborative research, and also provide many kinds of new insights to the participants. The results will certainly contribute to the success of the ITER project.

 It is my great pleasure to mention that many active and distinguished participants are attending this conference. Toki City is a pleasant town surrounded by a beautiful natural environment. It is a location famous for producing the lovely and artistic potteries, Oribe, Shino and Mino yaki. I again hope that we can have a fruitful time for discussions and information exchange to advance our understanding for the development of nuclear fusion and related technologies.

 I truly hope that you participants have a nice time here in Toki. Thank you very much for your attention.

15^th International Toki Conference Opening Ceremony Greetings from the Mayor

 Today, 15^th International Toki Conference is performed on a grand scale. I would like to say the word as the greeting of welcome with the feeling of gratitude as the local mayor.

 Utilizing culture and tradition as a producing district of the world leading pottery called "Mino-yaki" which has the history of 1300 odd years, Toki considers development of Tono Frontier Science Research City which has green and favorable research environment and can be prided in the world with a focus on location of worldwide research institute including National Institute for Fusion Science as a big pillar of the city measurements.

 Especially in Toki Plasma Research Park whose core institute is National Institute for Fusion Science, Toki developed infrastructure in part and opened wide-area customers collection type commercial complex, outlet moll with understanding and cooperation of the local and people concerned in February, this year.

 These activities aim at establish of "Small World City" in which traditional industry and advanced science technology are organically combined in the 21st century when importance is attached to "exchange" of people, cultures, and technologies internationally as well as domestically.

 In National Institute for Fusion Science, the research has been conducted for clean and permanent energy source with the Large Helical Device of the world�fs largest scale. Just the other day, I heard that experiment results of the world�fs highest performance exceeding the data in the last year were achieved, hold strong expectation in the further research, and think that Toki-city has achieved a big mission for suppression of fossil fuel usage and CO2-reduciton in the aggravated global heating.

 I would like to ask the understanding and support of you participating in this conference and working at the forefront of the world for development of Frontier Science Research City in Toki-city.

 Finally, I hope for future endeavors of National Institute for Fusion Science, continued success of the researchers, and rewarding achievement of 15^th International Toki Conference.

 Thank you.

"15^th International TOKI Conference" Opening Speech

Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen.
On the opening of the 15^th International TOKI Conference, I am here to present the greetings of Mr. Moriguchi, Director-General, Research and Development Bureau at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, or MEXT .

"I would like to express my sincerest welcome to all the domestic as well as international researchers who came from faraway to participate in the International TOKI conference this year.

"Development in the field of energy technology is always an important issue for nations like Japan that lack energy resources.
Nuclear fusion energy is known for its ample source of energy, high environmental maintainability, and specifically for its safety.
As an ultimate source of energy for all human beings, much focus and expectation is now placed upon nuclear fusion energy.
Our country has identified nuclear fusion energy as one of the most potential alternatives for future sources of energy from the early stage and has aggressively promoted its research and development.

"In the research and development for the actualization of nuclear fusion energy, the fostering of next-generation human resources is essential.
We should educate young researchers who will lead future nuclear fusion research in addition to promoting scientific research in universities and other research institutes.
Up until now, scientific research has been carried out through unique planning and methodotogies on the basis of researchers liberal concepts and themes. It has played a significant role in the community, and people greatly expect that this scientific research will continue producing universal results related to nuclear fusion development.

"Especially, it is truly important to build strong ties and cooperate with organizations like universities with a view to expanding the diversity of scientific research.

"In the National Institute for Fusion Science, or NIFS, which is a Center of Excellence (COE) of nuclear fusion research in universities, much coordinated research as well as joint use activities are carried out with the use of a unique large-scale experimental device called "LHD".
NIFS has so far made many globally acknowledged achievements as a result of fully utilizing these systems.
Also, a new type of coordinated research categorized as the "bilateral coordinated research" was started since 2004.
In this type of coordinated research, researchers from NIFS and universities share newly improved and more effective devices to conduct their research while attempting to co-operate and integrate research subjects.
Many researchers from universities currently participate in the program, and the bilateral coordinated research can be called an advanced model of the inter-university cooperation.
Moreover, the active involvements of young researchers to this coordinated research, we believe, will lead to fostering researchers with broader and move flexible minds and with high leadership ability.

"With the recent launch of the ITER project, the nuclear fusion research of the world plunged into a new phase. Now, MEXT strongly hopes that, through the 15^th International TOKI Conference, participants actively exchange information on the latest nuclear fusion plasma research and that by continuing active discussion and information exchange, ties between domestic and international researchers will be deepened. Then, above all, it is our best wish that more valuable research results will be produced through the attempt to establish cooperation between universities and institutes, including foreign research organizations, where unique and advanced scientific research is carried out.

"At last, let me express my truest appreciation to the cities of Toki, Tajimi, and Mizunami, the town of Kasahara, and Gifu prefecture as well as researchers from the NIFS for their cooperation and efforts to hold this 15^th International Toki Conference.
Now, in hope of providing such opportunities for the foreign participants to experience the culture and society of Japan and to deepen their understanding, I would like to close my speech.
Thank you so very much for listening."

Welcome Message
from the President of the National Institutes for National Science (NINS)
at the Opening Ceremony of the 15th International Toki Conference

I would like to express my sincere gratitude for opening the 15th International Toki Conference, hosted by the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), with the attendance so many participants.

Selecting the main theme every year, this conference is held in Toki city under the auspices of the local governments of Toki, Tajimi, Mizunami cities and Kasahara town as well as Gifu prefecture. As the NINS, an organization integrated the inter-university research institutes of natural sciences including the NIFS, it is our great pleasure to have this conference which has been playing an important role among the scientist community in the field of nuclear fusion plasma by providing opportunities for presenting the latest research results and exchangeing information.

The theme of the 15th International Toki Conference is "Fusion & Advanced Technology". It is planned to be presented and discussed the latest results on applied studies of advanced nuclear fusion technology, such as superconduction engineering, low-temperature engineering, furnace systems engineering and so on.

The NIFS has developed the superconducting LHD which produces the confining magnetic filed and the LHD experiments have been carried out smoothly since its first plasma ignition in March, 1998, and it achieved electronic temperature and ion temperature of 120 million degrees centigrade at maximum, respectively. Also, the LHD steady experiment succeeded 20 million degrees centigrade high-temperature plasma lasting more the 30 minutes long with injected total energy amount of 1.3 Giga J which recorded the highest in fusion science experiment devices in the world. We expect that wide announcement of these results would contribute to development of nuclear fusion study in the future and promote research exchanges further more.

As nuclear fusion research in Japan is going through new development, the NINS, with a view to promote scientific exchanges among researchers and internationalization of research activities, is strongly supporting this conference. We hope it will help to deepen mutual understanding of researchers and establish closer cooperation for realization of nuclear fusion energy which is expected all over the world, systematization of plasma physics, and development of base substantiality of broad atom molecule application.

Before closing my message, I would like to appreciate all of the organizations and the staff for their support and corporation.

Thank you very much.