Abe and Obama: Reconciliation and the Rebalance (Sheila A. Smith, Council on Foreign Relations)

http://www.cfr.org/japan/abe-obama-reconciliation-rebalance/p38606

Putin’s Japan Visit (Sheila A. Smith, Council on Foreign Relations)

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/12/19/putins-japan-visit/

The Wishes of the Heisei Emperor (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/08/11/the-wishes-of-the-heisei-emperor/

Japanese Public Opinion on Constitutional Revision (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

Last week, four Japanese legislators presented their thoughts on the prospects for revising Japan’s constitution. While the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has long advocated for the debate, its coalition partner, the Komeito, is cautious, and there is significant pushback from opposition parties, including the largest, the Democratic Party.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/07/27/japanese-public-opinion-on-constitutional-revision/

Voters Give Abe an Opening for Constitutional Debate (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

As elections go, yesterday’s Upper House vote was not a compelling display of popular interest in governance, yet it was an undeniable victory for the prime minister and his party. Voter turnout was only 54.7 percent, on the lower end of postwar Upper House election turnouts but larger than the last Upper House contest in 2013. But Japan’s younger voters gave their ruling party a boost. 40 percent of Japan’s newest voters, eighteen-and nineteen-year-olds, opted for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/07/11/voters-give-abe-an-opening-for-constitutional-debate/

Japan’s Constitution (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

In 1947, the Japanese parliament passed a new constitution, and it stands today without amendment as the organizing principle of Japan’s postwar democracy. But today there are some in Japan (including the prime minister) who think the time has come to think about amending it.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/07/07/japans-constitution/

Why Donald Trump's Plan for Japan Would Be a Nightmare for Asia (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

President Barack Obama's historic visit to Hiroshima, Japan, on May 27 to honor the memory of those killed and injured when the US dropped the atomic bomb on the city in 1945, comes, ironically, as the argument that Japan should reconsider the nuclear option has reemerged

http://www.cfr.org/asia-and-pacific/why-donald-trumps-plan-japan-would-nightmare-asia/p37895

Anti-Nuclear Sentiment and Japan’s Energy Choices (Daniel P. Aldrich, Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster on March 11, 2011, many believed that Japan would use the incident to rethink its energy plans, particularly nuclear energy policies. For more than four decades Japan has sought to create one of the world’s most advanced commercial nuclear industries, complete with fuel recycling and mixed oxide fuel use. Yet, since retaking power in 2012, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remains strongly committed to nuclear power after the nuclear meltdowns. Why has Japan stayed the course while other nations have abandoned nuclear power?

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/04/12/anti-nuclear-sentiment-and-japans-energy-choices/

A Trilateral on the Mend (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

For the second time, President Barack Obama brought together President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for a trilateral summit on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit. The first time in 2014 the president was facilitating a meeting the two leaders could not have on their own, but last week the improving relations between Seoul and Tokyo were obvious. While the United States has facilitated some of these improvements, ultimately it is North Korea and its provocations that brought the two U.S. allies back to the table. Whether the future of this trilateral can be bolder and more resilient remains to be seen.

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Far from Finished, Five Years After Fukushima (Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

Five years ago, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of northeastern Japan, triggering a tsunami that caused the meltdown of two nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Coping with the consequences, especially to the once-thriving nuclear power sector, remains a chief challenge for the government.

The immediate effect of the earthquake was a historic thirty-foot tidal wave that devastated cities and towns up and down the coast, resulting in 15,894 (PDF) dead, 2,562 (PDF) missing, and more than 386,000 (PDF)Japanese displaced. Today, more than 170,000 (PDF) victims of Japan’s so-called triple disasters are still unable to return to their homes. Above all, the legacy of the meltdown at Fukushima endures, and public consensus on nuclear power remains elusive.

http://www.cfr.org/japan/far-finished-five-years-after-fukushima/p37624

Post-Abe: Back to the Future for Japan? (James Gannon, Sheila A. Smith, CFR)

Barely three years ago, Japan watchers were wondering what it would take to break the country’s streak of short-term prime ministers—six premiers had cycled through office in six years and a total of fourteen in two decades. Then Shinzo Abe upended expectations by returning to power and projecting an aura of strong leadership. He has already become one of Japan’s longest-serving prime ministers and, in the process, racked up an impressive list of foreign policy accomplishments. In light of his success, one could assume that the problem of short-lived, weak prime ministers is a thing of the past. But a recent Japan Center for International Exchange study, Looking for Leadership, warns that Abe may be the exception rather than the rule. Post-Abe, Japan is likely to slip back into the pattern of frequent leadership changes.

http://blogs.cfr.org/asia/2016/02/29/post-abe-back-to-the-future-for-japan/

(Istituto fondamentale - Global) Rethinking Asia’s Postwar Settlement (Sheila A. Smith, Council on Foreign Relations)

http://www.cfr.org/asia-and-pacific/rethinking-asias-postwar-settlement/p36875