Wakeup call for Japan’s politicians
The massive shock that Japan received from the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, was not enough to shake the country’s politicians out of their comatose state. This was already evident before...
View ArticleTime to take over Daiichi?
Rather than rely on Tepco and a bare bones staff of regulators, it's time that the Japanese government consider taking control of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The post Time to take over Daiichi?...
View ArticleExposing IAEA to a dose of reality
Contrasting the International Atomic Energy Agency's findings with the reality in Fukushima, one is left wondering whether the IAEA mission got lost in a Potemkin village during their trip. The post...
View ArticleLessons for fixing Fukushima
In March 2011 all of Japan was united by the terrible experience of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident. Three years later this unity is increasingly fracturing as a more uneven reality...
View ArticleRebuilding trust in Tepco
Tepco's task of regaining the trust of Japan's public will be just as difficult as resolving the technical challenges in the decades-long work of decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. The...
View ArticleThe ‘evil’ in Iraq and Syria
Questioning the use of force by the U.S. and its allies in response to the crisis in Iraq and Syria does not mean we should sit idly by as innocents continue to be killed and abused. The post The...
View ArticleTerrorism is low on the list of dangers threatening Japan
The history of the U.S. and other Western democracies since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 has been a depressing tale of massive over-reactions to a very limited threat. The post Terrorism is low on the...
View ArticleThe tragedy of Shinzo Abe
If Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's concern is with strengthening the position of Japan, why he has made so little progress on economics reforms? The post The tragedy of Shinzo Abe appeared first on The...
View ArticlePutting democracy’s troubles in context
History shows us that democracy has survived crises far greater than the present moment.
View ArticleTo counter Abe, opposition must offer viable alternatives
Simply rejecting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's policies on defense and nuclear power is not sufficient. The opposition must formulate viable alternatives and advance different visions ...
View ArticleEasy punditry, hard problems
The experience of the Bush years suggests that the institutions of U.S. democracy are not necessarily strong enough to prevent dangerous and reckless decisions being ...
View ArticleSecurity in ‘Society 5.0’
As Japan moves toward Society 5.0, there is a need for a much more transparent accounting of the possible downsides surrounding this transition, and further ...
View ArticleLessons from living through a pandemic
COVID-19 has revealed that collectively we are not very good at dealing with situations of uncertainty.
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