Summary
Japan’s Nuclear Option: Security, Politics, and Policy in the 21st Century is the culmination of a joint US-Japan task force assembled to examine the prospect of a nuclear Japan, a notion fueled by burgeoning Japanese nationalism and the prospect of a nuclear North Korea. Led by Stimson senior associate Benjamin Self and Jeffrey Thompson, the task force included specialists on Japanese domestic politics, East Asian regional security, and nuclear non-proliferation. Participants approached Japan’s nuclear options from three perspectives – Japan’s security, political, and policy contexts – and concluded that Japan is unlikely to “go nuclear” in the foreseeable future.