Japan Archive

As it enters middle age, the nuclear energy industry is facing a question common at this stage of life: Does it still have exciting possibilities for growth, or are its best days behind it? Optimists who see nuclear energy as an appealing low-carbon option for combating climate change praise its stability and reliability over decades of operating experience, as well as the cheapness and reliability of uranium fuel supplies. Organizations like the International Energy Agency foresee substantial increases in nuclear-generated electricity over the next few decades, with the number of nuclear plants worldwide—currently at roughly 400—perhaps doubling or tripling. Yet, […]

On Oct. 8, after a year of intense effort, the Japanese and U.S. governments released an interim progress report on planned revisions to the guidelines framing their militaries’ respective roles in the joint defense of Japan. The report does not identify specific threats or discuss detailed scenarios for joint military operations, but it does provide a series of principles guiding the revisions and lists some types of cooperative activities they will cover. These principles and examples make clear that the two countries plan to expand the range of possible operations both geographically and functionally. The two governments’ foreign and defense […]

This summer, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe went on a five-nation tour of Latin America, visiting Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Chile and Brazil. In an email interview, Melba Falck Reyes, professor in the Pacific studies department at the University of Guadalajara, discussed Japan’s ties with Latin America. WPR: What are de main outcomes of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent Latin America tour? Melba Falck Reyes: With this visit Abe was seeking to consolidate and deepen relations with these countries, emphasizing four main areas: economic relations, cooperation, political dialogue and peace, stability and prosperity of the international community. Regarding […]