The team at RIKEN in Wakō, Japan began bombarding curium -248 targets with a vanadium -51 beam in January 2018 to search for element 119. Curium was chosen as a target, rather than heavier berkelium or californium, as these heavier targets are difficult to prepare. The Cm targets were provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. RIKEN developed a high-intensity vanadium beam. The experiment began at a cyclotron while RIKEN upgraded its linear accelerators; the upgrade was completed in 2020. Bombardment may be continued with both machines until the first event is observed; the experiment is currently running intermittently for at least 100 days per year. The RIKEN team's efforts are being financed by the Emperor of Japan. The team at the JINR plans to attempt synthesis of element 119 in the future, probably using the Am + Cr reaction, but a precise timeframe has not been publicly released.