At a signing ceremony hosted on December 4 at the Canadian Embassy in Japan, the heads of Canada’s TRIUMF and Japan’s KEK signed a new partnership agreement to enhance research collaborations between the two centers and promote joint projects in the areas of subatomic physics, accelerator science and materials science.

Both TRIUMF (Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics and accelerator-based science) and KEK (the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan) are involved in the research, development and operation of particle accelerator facilities and share many collaborative projects in these areas. Current joint efforts include T2K, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the proposed International Linear Collider, materials and molecular sciences and particle physics experiments using neutrons, muons and kaons. To further strengthen collaborative research opportunities each laboratory will now set up a branch office at each other’s respective institution.

“This agreement represents an important milestone in the TRIUMF-KEK and Canada-Japan bilateral relationship,” said Dr. Jonathan Bagger, TRIUMF director. “It will enhance cooperation between our organizations and countries in support of cutting-edge research, such as the Ultra-Cold Neutron project in Canada and the T2K experiment in Japan. I look forward to continued close collaboration as TRIUMF and KEK together embark on the next step to better advance science, discovery, and innovation.”

Dr. Masanori Yamauchi, director general of KEK, said “Building on KEK and TRIUMF’s strong foundation of international scientific cooperation, this new agreement, and particularly the establishment of branch offices, will facilitate and enhance our common work on current and future scientific projects of shared interest.”