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US, Japan Announce Partnership to Accelerate Nuclear Fusion

IN THIS ISSUE: US, Japan Announce Partnership to Accelerate Nuclear Fusion, Nuclear Deal in Tatters, Iran Edges Close to Weapons Capability, Biden Backs Japan’s Push for Summit with North Korea in Talks with Kishida, Senators to Launch Caucus Promoting Advanced Nuclear Reactors, US Air Force Reports lower B-21 Costs After Negotiations with Northrop, The Short March to China’s Hydrogen Bomb

Published on April 11, 2024

US, Japan Announce Partnership to Accelerate Nuclear Fusion

Jarrett Renshaw and Timothy Gardner | Reuters

The United States and Japan on Wednesday announced a joint partnership to accelerate development and commercialization of nuclear fusion. The partnership was unveiled as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Washington for a summit with President Joe Biden. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk and Japan's minister of education, sports, science and technology, Masahito Moriyama, met in Washington on Tuesday to discuss fusion.

Nuclear Deal in Tatters, Iran Edges Close to Weapons Capability

Joby Warrick | The Washington Post 

The collapse of the deal, meanwhile, has sharply curtailed the IAEA’s ability to monitor Iran’s activity or investigate any reports of secret weapons activity, the officials and experts said. A U.S. official with knowledge of internal discussions at the IAEA’s governing board conceded that the nuclear watchdog is less capable now of detecting a nuclear breakout by Iran. Such an event could bring cascading consequences, from a Middle East arms race to a direct Israel-Iran conflict that could unleash a wider regional war, said the official. For now, the U.S. official said of Iran, “they are dancing right up to the edge.”

Biden Backs Japan’s Push for Summit with North Korea in Talks with Kishida

Shreyas Reddy | NK News

The leaders of the U.S. and Japan reaffirmed their commitment to resuming diplomatic outreach to the DPRK on Wednesday despite its recent rejection of a summit with Tokyo, while pledging to simultaneously strengthen security cooperation against Pyongyang’s threats. After wide-ranging talks in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida emphasized the importance of Tokyo’s push for a summit with Kim Jong Un, the White House reported in a readout of their press conference. “The establishment of a meaningful relationship between Japan and North Korea is in the interest of both Japan and North Korea and … could be hugely beneficial to the peace and stability of the region,” Kishida stated.

Senators to Launch Caucus Promoting Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Nico Portuondo | E&E News

Next-generation nuclear reactors and the burgeoning industry surrounding them have big fans in the Senate, so it seems logical they’d get their own bipartisan caucus there. That’s exactly what’s happening Thursday, as Sens. Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and are expected to announce the Senate Advanced Nuclear Caucus, a group specifically dedicated to amplifying the critical role nuclear energy plays in the United States and exploring emerging advanced nuclear reactors. The announcement was first shared with E&E News.

US Air Force Reports lower B-21 Costs After Negotiations with Northrop

Stephen Losey | Defense News

 The Air Force is seeing the unit cost of the B-21 Raider, its next stealth bomber, come down after negotiations with manufacturer Northrop Grumman, the service’s secretary said Tuesday. Frank Kendall told the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense the cost decline shows the negotiations are “going in the right direction.”The spokesperson said the Air Force’s procurement budget for the B-21 in fiscal 2025 was adjusted to take into account the favorable negotiations on low-rate initial production prices. The service said neither the program’s quantities nor scope were adjusted.

The Short March to China’s Hydrogen Bomb

Hui Zhang | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 

There is still very limited knowledge in Western literature about how China built its first H-bomb. Based on newly available information—including Chinese blogs, memoirs, and other publicly available publications—this account reconstructs the history of how China made a breakthrough in understanding hydrogen bomb principles and built its first H-bomb—without foreign help.

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