Fukushima Update

{
  "authors": [
    "James M. Acton"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "NPP",
  "programs": [
    "Nuclear Policy"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "East Asia",
    "Japan"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Nuclear Policy",
    "Nuclear Energy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Fukushima Update

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is likely stable unless there is another large earthquake or tsunami.

By James M. Acton

Published on Feb 28, 2012

Source: BBC World News America

Appearing on BBC World News America, Carnegie’s James Acton said that Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is stable unless there is another large earthquake or tsunami. A new report on the March 11, 2011 nuclear accident shows that the Japanese government withheld vital information at the time, but the impact of that report remains to be seen, Acton said. He reiterated that the key risk now for the plant is another freak earthquake or tsunami.

About the Author

James M. Acton

Jessica T. Mathews Chair, Co-director, Nuclear Policy Program

Acton holds the Jessica T. Mathews Chair and is co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Recent Work

Other
Unpacking Trump’s National Security Strategy
- +18
  James M. Acton, Saskia Brechenmacher, Cecily Brewer, …
Commentary
Trump Has an Out on Nuclear Testing. He Should Take It.
- James M. Acton

Nuclear Policy Nuclear Energy East Asia Japan

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie China

Commentary
How to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral Approach
GDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries.
Michael Pettis
Article
How Southeast Asia Sees Xi Jinping’s Regional Push Amid U.S.-China Tensions
The Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trading system and reset overseas security commitments is creating an historic inflection point. Less clear is how far China will be able to capitalize on these dynamics.
+1
Li Mingjiang, Le Hong Hiep, Ngeow Chow Bing, …
Article
Northeast Asia Is for Deterrence and Southeast Asia Is (Mostly) for Freeriding: Appreciating Divergent East Asian Approaches to Order, Uncertainty, and Contestation
Most Southeast Asian states behave as if the actions of their Northeast Asian neighbors and the Philippines will be sufficient to maintain a regional status quo from which they can benefit.
Chong Ja Ian
Commentary
The Commercialization of Cyber Nationalism in China
Patriotic and nationalist sentiments have been co-opted by self-media and social media platforms to generate profit. This has given rise to a traffic-driven business of cyber nationalism that relies on extreme xenophobic rhetoric.
Wang Qiyue, Li Mingjiang
Commentary
Will Technology Differentiate China Today from Japan in the 1990s?
Ignoring the problems of its historical precedents won’t make China’s success any more likely.
Michael Pettis

More Work from Carnegie China

An aerial view shows containers stacked at a port in Taicang, in eastern China's Jiangsu province on May 18, 2025.

Commentary

How to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral Approach

GDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries.

Michael Pettis

People wave Chinese flags as the plane carrying Chinese President Xi Jinping arrives for a two-day state visit at Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on April 14, 2025

Article

How Southeast Asia Sees Xi Jinping’s Regional Push Amid U.S.-China Tensions

The Trump administration’s effort to reshape the global trading system and reset overseas security commitments is creating an historic inflection point. Less clear is how far China will be able to capitalize on these dynamics.

- +1
Li Mingjiang, Le Hong Hiep, Ngeow Chow Bing, …

Article

Northeast Asia Is for Deterrence and Southeast Asia Is (Mostly) for Freeriding: Appreciating Divergent East Asian Approaches to Order, Uncertainty, and Contestation

Most Southeast Asian states behave as if the actions of their Northeast Asian neighbors and the Philippines will be sufficient to maintain a regional status quo from which they can benefit.

Chong Ja Ian

Commentary

The Commercialization of Cyber Nationalism in China

Patriotic and nationalist sentiments have been co-opted by self-media and social media platforms to generate profit. This has given rise to a traffic-driven business of cyber nationalism that relies on extreme xenophobic rhetoric.

Wang Qiyue, Li Mingjiang

Commentary

Will Technology Differentiate China Today from Japan in the 1990s?

Ignoring the problems of its historical precedents won’t make China’s success any more likely.

Michael Pettis