Japan's METI Conditionally Selects Four Private Fusion Demonstration Projects for ¥60B in Subsidies

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) conditionally selected four industry-led projects for its fusion power generation demonstration program, spanning laser, stellarator, field-reversed-configuration, and tokamak approaches: EX-Fusion (with Hamamatsu Photonics, laser fusion), Helical Fusion (stellarator, under its Helix Program), LINEA Innovation (beam-supported field-reversed configuration), and Starlight Engine (with Kyoto Fusioneering, HTS tokamak). The program provides roughly ¥60 billion (~$370M) in milestone-based government support through 2028, targeting fusion power demonstration in the 2030s; formal adoption is expected as early as October 2026.