Hot on the heals of a clean Nobel sweep for Japanese-born particle physicists, Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura says that Japan is ready to host the next generation of particle collider. The International Linear Collider, which would collide electrons rather than protons, is the big hope for high-energy physicists after CERN’s Large Hadron Collider wraps up its work sometime in the next decade.

It’s nice to see someone taking an interest. As myself and my Washington-based colleague Eric Hand jointly reported, the US and UK have withdrawn from the linear collider in recent months.

Image: artist’s rendition of ILC particle event / Sandbox Studio