Commentary
U.S. trading partners in Asia are closely watching the dispute for signs of how it may affect their own interests.
Barbara Weisel
Book
Japan's Nuclear Future: The Plutonium Debate and East Asian Security
Japan's policy of basing its nuclear power program on reprocessed plutonium has aroused widespread suspicion, especially in neighboring East Asian countries, that Japan is secretly planning to develop nuclear weapons.
Published on Jul 1, 1996
Source: Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1996
Summary
Japan's policy of basing its nuclear power program on reprocessed plutonium has aroused widespread suspicion, especially in neighboring East Asian countries, that Japan is secretly planning to develop nuclear weapons. This book presents the views of a leading Japanese proponent of the reprocessing policy, Atsuyuki Suzuki, Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Tokyo University; a leading critic, Jinzaburo Takagi, Director of the Citizens Nuclear Information Center; and Taewoo Kim, a South Korean specialist who warns that the Japanese nuclear program could lead Seoul to pursue a reprocessing capability of its own.
An introductory essay by Selig S. Harrison analyzes the history of the domestic debate in Japan over the acquisition of nuclear weapons and assesses the possibility of a Japanese nuclear weapons program.
Advance Praise
This unique and important book provides the international community with unprecedented access to a range of sophisticated Asian views on the possibility that Japan may convert its nuclear-energy programme to a nuclear-weapons programme... Harrison pulls no punches [and] no one has been as ambitiously comprehensive in offering policy options to enhance nuclear safety in the region.
-Survival, The IISS Quarterly
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 Endowment for International Peace
- The Fallout of the U.S.–Canada Trade War Won’t Be Limited to North America
- Is the U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal Moving From the Gold Standard to a Gilded Standard?Commentary
Congress should ask tough questions about the agreement’s more unique features and whether they advance U.S. interests or compromise them.
Jane Darby Menton
- A Nuclear Odyssey at SeaCommentary
Nuclear and maritime communities face a long and challenging journey to deploy commercial nuclear applications at sea.
Jamie Kwong, Toby Dalton
- The Two Logics Driving Japan’s Security PolicyArticle
Japan’s revision of its three strategic documents reflects an intention to keep the United States engaged in the region while Japan fills any vacuums of U.S. power to preserve the Indo-Pacific order.
Ryo Sahashi
- Caught in the Middle: Chinese Biotech Firms’ Divergent Responses to U.S. SanctionsCommentary
Chinese biotech companies have been on the receiving end of U.S. economic coercion. Yet their responses have differed significantly because firm and state interests are not uniformly aligned. For Washington, treating all Chinese tech firms the same, irrespective of their actual interests, risks pushing them farther into Beijing’s corner.
Xue Gong
