The search for superheavy elements is a difficult and painstaking process. Such elements do not occur in nature and must be produced through experiments involving nuclear reactors or particle accelerators, via processes of nuclear fusion or neutron absorption. Since the first such elements were discovered in the 1940s, Germany, Russia, and the United States have made all of the discoveries. Now the RIKEN Linear Accelerator Facility near Tokyo has achieved the distinction of discovering Element 113, setting the stage for Japan to claim naming rights for the new element.