A meeting Tuesday of the six partners in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project will formally decide that the reactor will be built in the French town of Cadarache, the Mainichi Shimbun daily said.

The partners -- China, the European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States -- are to meet in Moscow.

An official at the science ministry said only: "We are preparing our policy as negotiations are under way with the aim to decide on the site at an upcoming six-party meeting."

Japan had hoped to bring the multibillion-dollar project to the northern village of Rokkasho-mura.

The Mainichi said Japan informed the Europeans of its decision after securing a deal to construct the project's main research facility in Japan and keep 20 percent of the jobs at the head office, including the top post of the ITER organization, for Japanese nationals.

Japan is also set to get 20 percent of the work to build the reactor although Japan's share of the cost for ITER is 10 percent, the daily said without citing sources.

The United States and South Korea have supported Japan's bid for ITER, while China and Russia back the European Union's efforts to bring it to France.

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