Monbusho is not closely connected to the mainline effort. Its role 

 in fusion is to support basic science and promising alternative fusion 

 concepts in the universities. Officials at Monbusho disclaimed any 

 responsibility for international collaboration in fusion development. 

 No expansion in collaboration with the United States at the university 

 level is foreseen because of flat budgets. As of April 1, 1984, the 

 Monbusho fusion program was transferred from the Research Aid Division 

 to the Applications Division; this transfer implies that fusion 

 research is firmly established in Monbusho, comparable to other 

 macrosciences, such as space science and high-energy physics. The 

 process by which university fusion research results move toward 

 application and commercialization was not clearly brought out. 



The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) is watching 

 fusion development with interest, but does not yet seem to be a 

 dominant force. 



A generally positive attitude about international cooperation was 

 expressed by ministry officials (STA, Monbusho, and MITI) , by fusion 

 program leaders (JAERI , ETL, IPP, and University of Tsukuba) and by 

 influential advisors (Nuclear Fusion Council) , albeit with different 

 emphasis: 



o STA officials seemed to be favorably disposed because of 



Japanese financial constraints, 

 o Monbusho officials endorsed the principle but were apparently 



concerned about the impact on their budget, 

 o MITI officials were noncommital. 

 o JAERI leaders were positive, probably because of their 



awareness of both financial constraints and technical benefits, 



but emphasized that coooperative activities must fit into their 



own program, 

 o IPP leaders were noncommital and were apparently concerned that 



major cooperation together with a contrained Japanese budget 



might adversely affect their program, 

 o Nuclear Fusion Council members indicated that international 



cooperation must play a larger role than they had previously 



thought, presumably because of Japanese financial constraints. 



The Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) represents industry's 

 interests in fusion (Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, 1983). Industry 

 is actively involved as supplier of experimental equipment and 

 exhibited great interest in acquiring and protecting fusion 

 "know-how." Industry representatives of JAIF expressed a generally 

 negative attitude on international cooperation, an attitude which 

 seemed to be motivated primarily by their desire to supply the 

 Japanese effort themselves. This group did not appear to be concerned 

 that Japanese financial constraints may reduce the size of that effort 

 or stretch out the period over which it is distributed. These 

 representatives also indicated that Japan should not rely on anv other 

 country for the development of any technology that is critical. One 



