Dr. Yoshikawa was a leader of the world fusion program throughout his career. He received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Tokyo in 1961. From 1963 to 1971 he was a research scientist at General Atomics in the U.S., where he performed research on a variety of toroidal fusion concepts, including Octopoles and Quadrupoles, that layed the ground for the current very successful DIII-D effort, with his colleagues including Tihiro Ohkawa, Torkil Jensen and Teruo Tamano.

In 1971, Dr. Yoshikawa joined the staff at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and was influential in the very rapid buildup to the Japanese fusion effort during the 1970s. In 1975, he became Head of the Office of Large Tokamak Development there and in 1984 he became Director of the Department of Large Tokamak Development. Under the guidance of Dr. Yoshikawa, the largest and one of the most productive tokamaks in the world, JT-60, was built and operated. Currently a superconducting magnet version of that facility, JT-60SA is nearing completion.

In 1988 Dr. Yoshikawa became Director General of the Naka Fusion Research Establishment at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), eventually rising to become the President of JAERI in 1995. He has been a champion of fusion research in Japan and worldwide throughout his career. In 1992 he was named co-chair of the ITER Council and chair of the ITER Management Advisory Committee.

In 1999 he was a recipient of Fusion Power Associates Distinguished Career Award. In 2006 he was recipient of the Global Energy International Energy Prize for his scientific contributions to the ITER project. In 2007 the Fusion Energy Forum of Japan established the Masaji Yoshikawa Award in his honor, to recognize early career scientists.

Colleagues may send condolences and remembrances via

Dr. Hidetoshi Yoshida's yoshida.hidetoshi@qst.go.jp or
Dr. Teruo Tamano ttamano@hotmail.co.jp