Author: Masashi Nishihara, RIPS

One of the positive results of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan was the Japanese public’s heightened recognition of the importance of both the Self Defense Forces (SDF) and the Japan-US alliance.

This turn of events will have significant affects on Japan’s future security and relations with the United States. In the past, the two forces conducted many joint exercises but never joint operations. Read more…

Author: Masashi Nishihara, RIPS

Should Japan and South Korea declare a nuclear weapon-free zone? My answer is: ‘No, not without a substantial change in the regime in North Korea.’ Certainly the idea of such a zone is intriguing, but it is just not realistic. A fundamental question that must be asked before considering such an idea is whether or not Japan and South Korea would be safer under a nuclear weapon-free zone while North Korea retains its nuclear capability.

The concept of a Northeast Asian nuclear weapon-free zone (NWFZ) commonly refers to Japan and the two Koreas as the core of the zone, with three nuclear weapons states, the United States, Russia and China, pledging to refrain from using nuclear weapons inside the zone. Read more…