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November 22, 2024
 

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Bennett Ramberg
The risk of unsecure nuclear weapons or a vengeful leader such as Vladimir Putin going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the world must prepare for the worst-case scenario. 
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 16, 2023
Preparing for a Russian nuclear meltdown
The risk of “loose nukes” or a vengeful leader going down with his finger on the trigger may seem far-fetched, but the chances are not zero.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 18, 2022
The risk of nuclear disaster in Ukraine
A potential Russian invasion of Ukraine raises questions about the country's 15 nuclear reactors and the dangers they pose in case of a war.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 12, 2021
Nuclear peace with North Korea is possible
Does nuclear-arms control have a future on the peninsula? It does, but not as currently practiced.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 13, 2019
Whither nuclear arms control?
What worked in the past may not work in the present, and tactics to rein in one country could prove disastrous if pursued with others.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 3, 2017
How to stop Kim using his nukes
The belief we can make nuclear North Korea go away is a mirage.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 12, 2016
The security of nukes in insecure regions
More efforts are needed to develop well-considered and broadly supported plans to secure nuclear weapons in volatile regions.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 28, 2016
The next nuclear disaster may be intentional
Nuclear reactors are likely terrorist targets and not enough is being done to protect them.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 15, 2016
Why the world must live with a nuclear North Korea
It is inconceivable that Kim Jong Un would give up the weapon that places his nation in the exclusive nuclear club, and sanctions won't force him to do so.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 23, 2015
Managing North Korea's collapse
Regardless of whether the North Korean regime collapses with a bang or a whimper, ensuring that the country's nuclear weapons are not used, moved or exported is a task that will require the capabilities of the U.S. armed forces.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 14, 2014
Danger from loose nukes in volatile countries
The inherent danger in possessing nuclear assets becomes far more acute in a combat zone, such as today's Middle East, where nuclear materials and weapons are at risk of theft, and reactors can become bombing targets.
COMMENTARY / World
Apr 18, 2014
Ukraine's Chernobyl factor
Twenty-eight years after its Chernobyl nuclear plant exploded, Ukraine confronts a nuclear specter of a different kind: the possibility that the country's reactors could become military targets in the event of a Russian invasion.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 8, 2013
Tehran's nuclear quandary
There are many obstacles to an agreement on Iran's nuclear program. Particularly troubling for the U.S. and its allies, though, is how much Iran has mimicked the regime in Pyongyang.
COMMENTARY / World
May 1, 2013
Ensuring Syria's chemical genie stays in the bottle
Syria's chemical-weapons stockpile is dangerous, but so are the remnants of a North Korean-engineered nuclear reactor buried beneath a base overrun by Syrian rebels.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 5, 2011
U.S. budget cuts and the next war of choice
The failure of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to reach agreement on budget cuts now sets the stage for $1.2 trillion in automatic reductions to begin in January 2013.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 21, 2011
Checking the impulse to fight wars of choice
As the United States stumbles through its economic challenges at home, the pressure of world events will not subside. But America's ability to address them has changed. Its fiscal weakness limits its ability to act as global policeman.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 15, 2011
Israel's nuclear option in Iran
LOS ANGELES — Revelations in former U.S. President George W. Bush's recently published memoirs show that he declined an Israeli request to destroy Syria's secret nuclear reactor in the spring of 2007. While the revelation may appear merely to be a historical footnote, more profoundly it raises new...
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 22, 2010
Weak START for the mindset of deterrence
LOS ANGELES — A strange sense of deja vu is gripping Washington these days, as the debate over ratification by the U.S. Senate of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia heats up. Spats have broken out among the Obama administration, future presidential contenders, senators,...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 17, 2010
The Libya option in Iran
LOS ANGELES — International efforts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons will be given a new lease on life this month, because France has assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council. As Council president, France — which shares America's views about the need to strengthen...
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 22, 2009
America's exits also produce positive change
LOS ANGELES — As Barack Obama's administration debates the pace and consequences of withdrawal from Iraq, it would do well to examine the strategic impact of other American exits in the final decades of the 20th century. Although American commitments to Lebanon, Somalia, Vietnam and Cambodia differed...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2008
Is the NPT still effective?
LOS ANGELES — Forty years ago this month, more than 50 nations gathered in the East Room of the White House to sign the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). In his memoirs, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson called it "the most significant step we had yet taken to reduce the possibility...
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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