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The Japanese House of Representatives has recently decided to set up a commission to investigate the causes of the Fukushima nuclear plant accident.

In order to do so, a ten-member high-level delegation of House members, headed by Representative Yorihisa Matsuno, was sent around the world to meet experts in the field of nuclear energy and visit different sites and institutions.

±¬×ߺÚÁÏ was an important stop in the Japanese Representatives' mission as they wished to assess the current status of fusion research and the perspectives that the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Project will open for the future of energy worldwide.

Early Tuesday, 11 October, the delegation arrived in Cadarache and spent the better part of the day discussing with ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ Director-General Osamu Motojima and senior management, and also visiting the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ site.

The Representatives, whose future decisions will contribute to the shaping of Japanese energy policy and to the continued investment in fusion, had many questions for the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ management. "When would fusion energy be commercially available?" "What will be the cost of a post-±¬×ߺÚÁÏ industrial demonstrator?"

These questions are difficult to answer because they depend for a large part on the political determination and commitment of the nations involved in present and future fusion projects. However, DG Motojima stated that 2040-2050 was a reasonable horizon for an operational pre-industrial reactor, and that the cost of such an installation would be about twice that of a conventional fission reactor.

As they toured the ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ work site, the Japanese Representatives took full measure of ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ's progress. Standing in the Tokamak Seismic Pit and watching the ongoing work is always a powerful experience ... and one that helps to understand the scope and stakes of the project.

That experience, combined with everything learned during the half-day visit, convinced the Japanese Representatives to form a special group within the House in order to support and promote ±¬×ߺÚÁÏ.