Canada’s TRIUMF (CSA CSM) laboratory has opened a branch at Japan’s KEK, enhancing research collaborations between the two labs to explore a range of areas from the breadth and composition of the universe to the properties of advanced materials.

The Honorable Kirsty Duncan, Canada’s minister of science, welcomed a new era of scientific partnership between Canada and Japan with a ribbon cutting ceremony where she was joined by dignitaries from both laboratories. “As world leaders in subatomic physics, TRIUMF and KEK have forged an extraordinary collaboration that continues to unlock new opportunities to advance this important field,” says Duncan. “I congratulate both organizations on this new milestone and wait in anticipation to see the strides in fundamental research that will undoubtedly come out of this new era of innovation and partnership between our two countries.”

The opening follows the signing of a new partnership agreement in December 2015 by Dr. Jonathan Bagger, director of TRIUMF— Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics and accelerator based science—and Dr. Masanori Yamauchi, director general of KEK—the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization in Japan.

“The opening of this new branch office represents not just a strengthening of the partnership between TRIUMF and KEK, but also the importance of collaboration on the global scale,” says Bagger. “I look forward to the leaps that TRIUMF and KEK will make together to advance discovery and innovation at home and abroad.”

TRIUMF and KEK have numerous shared projects in the areas of subatomic physics, accelerator science and materials science. Current efforts include the T2K and Belle II experiments in Japan, the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the proposed International Linear Collider.

“For decades, TRIUMF and KEK have been recognized internationally in the areas of subatomic physics, accelerator science and materials science,” says Yamauchi. “Through our growing partnership, we will continue to be global leaders in advancing these areas of research, as well acting as pillars of scientific cooperation.”