Next-Generation Radiation Facility to Be Built in Sendai

July 3, 2018

Tokyo- A next-generation synchrotron radiation facility is set to be built in the northeastern Japan city of Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, the science and technology ministry said Tuesday.

The ministry designated partners that will work with the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology to construct and operate the new facility, including the city government of Sendai, which proposed construction of it within a campus of Tohoku University.

The ministry plans to include funds for the project in its budget request for fiscal 2019 toward the planned launch of operations at the new facility in fiscal 2023.

The next-generation synchrotron radiation facility will allow research on the characteristics of various materials, using soft x-rays, which have lower energy than normal x-rays. Experts hope that research on a wide range of subjects, including drug discovery and new materials development, will take place at the facility.

Under the plan, a particle accelerator, a beamline and a building for research will be built within Tohoku University's new Aobayama campus in Sendai.

Of the total costs of some 36 billion yen for the project, the Sendai side will shoulder some 17 billion yen.

The national institutes and the Sendai side will move forward with discussion to set details of the project. Jiji Press