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Join us for the launch of Balancing Between Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament: Views from the Next Generation. This volume offers analyses by five scholars who examine the complex question of how Japan should balance between its short-term requirement for effective nuclear deterrence and its long-term desire for a nuclear-free world in the face of increasing uncertainty relating to nuclear weapons in its own neighborhood. On the deterrence side of the equation, an acceleration of North Korea’s nuclear weapon development efforts has further deepened Japan’s dependence on U.S. extended nuclear deterrence. The U.S. Nuclear Posture Review released on February 2, 2018 will likely also impact Japan’s thinking on how to ensure the effectiveness of this deterrence. On the side of nuclear disarmament, the passage of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in July 2017 has put Japan in the awkward position of opposing the treaty, despite its postwar diplomatic efforts and commitment to nuclear disarmament, due to the lack of participation of nuclear powers in the treaty negotiation.
Yuki Tatsumi leads a panel discussion of the report with its five authors: Masahiro Kurita, Fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies in the Ministry of Defense of Japan; Wakana Mukai, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of International Relations, Asia University; Masashi Murano, Research Fellow at the Okazaki Institute; Masahiro Okuda (joining via pre-recorded remarks), Ph.D. candidate at the Takushoku University Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies; and Heigo Sato, Vice President of the Institute for World Studies at Takushoku University.
WHAT: The launch of Balancing Between Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament, a volume of policy briefs examining Japan’s ability to pursue both disarmament and deterrence in an increasingly complex security environment. This event is on the record.
WHERE: The Stimson Center, 1211 Connecticut Avenue, NW, 8th Floor, Washington DC, 20036
WHEN: Monday, March 19, 2018, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
FOLLOW: @StimsonCenter on Twitter for event news and use #StimsonNow to join the conversation.
Featuring:
MASAHIRO KURITA, Fellow, National Institute for Defense Studies
Kurita is a fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) in the Ministry of Defense, Japan. Before joining NIDS in April 2015, he was a researcher at the Foreign Affairs and Defense Division of the Research and Legislative Reference Bureau of the National Diet Library, Japan, from April 2013 to March 2015. He earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. from Hitotsubashi University. His areas of expertise include deterrence, nuclear strategy, and South Asian security.
WAKANA MUKAI, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of International Relations, Asia University
Mukai is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of International Relations, Asia University. From 2007 to 2008, she was also a Research Fellow at the Japan Institute of International Affairs, where she coordinated multiple projects and studies related to international security and international politics, with a special focus on arms control, nuclear nonproliferation, and disarmament. Mukai holds a B.A. in language and area studies from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, and received her M.P.P and Ph.D. from the University of Tokyo.
MASASHI MURANO, Research Fellow, Okazaki Institute
Murano is a Research Fellow at the Okazaki Institute, a Tokyo-based think tank that deals with intelligence, foreign affairs, and defense issues. From 2011 to 2017, he served as an intelligence analyst in the Intelligence and Analysis Service at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His research focuses include: nuclear/conventional deterrence, missile defense, defense technology, and U.S. forward deployment strategy. Murano was invited to the International Visitor Leadership Program in 2017 (National Security Policy Process) administered by the U.S. Department of State. He holds an M.A. in security studies from Takushoku University.
MASAHIRO OKUDA, Ph.D. Candidate, Takushoku University
Okuda is a doctoral course student at the Takushoku University Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies. He received an M.A. in international security in 2012 from Takushoku University. His research focuses on nuclear weapons, arms control and disarmament, WMD proliferation, nuclear non-proliferation policy, and export controls.
HEIGO SATO, Vice President of the Institute for World Studies, Takushoku University
Sato is a Professor at the Faculty of International Studies and Vice President of the Institute for World Studies, Takushoku University. He was previously a Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies. He was a Special Adviser to Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on disarmament and nonproliferation. He earned his Ph.D. in international relations from Hitotsubashi University, and received M.A.s from University of Tsukuba and George Washington University. His research interests include international relations, American politics and diplomacy, security studies, arms control, and nonproliferation.
YUKI TATSUMI, co-Director of the East Asia Program, Stimson Center
Tatsumi is the co-Director of the East Asia Program at the Stimson Center. Tatsumi is the author of numerous books, monographs, and articles on the Japanese defense establishment, the U.S.-Japan alliance, and security dynamics and challenges in Northeast Asia. A native of Tokyo, she holds a B.A. in liberal arts from the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan and an M.A. in international economics and Asian studies from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.