German Chancellor Merz visits Kyoto Fusioneering to discuss Japan-Germany cooperation

Kyoto Fusioneering (KF) announced on November 6, 2026 that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited its headquarters and R&D site in Ota, Tokyo, on October 29. He toured fusion equipment and discussed opportunities for Japan-Germany cooperation with the company. A German Federal Government record dated October 30 also confirms the visit to KF.

The tour covered gyrotrons for plasma heating and components of fuel-cycle systems. A gyrotron generates high-power microwaves to heat plasma, while a fuel cycle recovers and purifies tritium fuel for reuse in a reactor. KF explained technical challenges common to different fusion approaches.

Turning fusion into electricity requires more than reactions inside a reactor: it also needs equipment for heating, fuel circulation and heat extraction. KF, which develops these shared systems, expressed its intention to deepen cooperation between engineers in Japan and Germany.

KF has a German subsidiary, KFEU, in Karlsruhe. In January 2024, it signed a cooperation agreement with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) covering fuel-cycle and tritium technologies.

The November 6 release also referred to the memorandum of understanding with Proxima Fusion announced on October 28 and the one with Focused Energy announced on October 29. Those collaborations had already been disclosed; this release reports on the tour and discussions. No new funding, orders or policy decisions were announced.

Focused Energy and KF’s cooperation agreement / Proxima Fusion’s cooperation agreements with Japanese companies (Japanese)