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If Tokyo Electric Power and the Japanese nuclear safety agency had followed international standards and best practice, the Fukushima accident could have been prevented.
Public sentiment in many states has turned against nuclear energy following the March 2011 accident at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The Fukushima accident was, however, preventable.
With the Iranian nuclear crisis nearing a watershed, the question of the Obama administration's "red lines" on Iran's nuclear program is the subject of considerable speculation and debate.
Debate in China on Iran’s nuclear program continues to focus on uranium enrichment at the expense of other key aspects that could give a better indication of the broader program’s progress and outcomes.
Moscow believes that stringent international sanctions against Iran will not put an end to the Iranian nuclear program or turn the Iranian people against their government and will also fail to stave off an Israeli airstrike.
The upcoming Seoul summit aims to reach consensus on securing nuclear materials against their use by militants. However, despite some progress in 2010, agreement may be harder to find this time.
A flurry of meetings in Washington and Brussels are about to be held on the subject of negotiating with Iran about its nuclear program. The focus of all the meetings is on doing diplomacy with Iran.
The November 2011 International Atomic Energy Agency report suggests that the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program and Tehran's lack of cooperation with the international community leave little doubt that Iran aims to become at least a nuclear threshold state.
With nuclear weapons a strategic necessity for Pyongyang and central to its identity, it is unlikely that North Korea was ever serious about using them as a bargaining chip.
Given that products that rely on the same technologies and materials as weapons of mass destruction are everywhere, the challenge for states is to ensure that trade in dual-use goods and technologies does not contribute to WMD proliferation.