NAOJ TMT Project Manager issues statement

News Release from TMT.org, March 4, 2020

You may have seen the recent news stories about Japan's funding of TMT.

Tomonori Usada, The NAOJ TMT Project Manager, issued the following statement in response to inquiries: 

"The government of Japan reduced its budget allocation for the TMT project in Japanese FY2020 (April 2020 to March 2021) due to the stalemate of the construction in Hawaii. We need to slow down the development activities in Japan for the fiscal year. However, this slowdown will not impact the overall schedule of the project significantly because Japan has steadily developed its contributions (e.g., primary mirror segments and final design of the telescope structure) so far. More importantly, the Japanese government is still strongly committed to the TMT project in Hawaii, and its position is fully aligned with TIO that Hawaii remains the preferred site for the TMT."

Meanwhile, we continue to engage in private discussions with community members in finding a peaceful, lawful and non-violent way forward that honors and supports our scientific goals, environmental stewardship and the traditions and culture of Hawaii.

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