Masako Toki

Toki is the project manager and research associate in the Nonproliferation Education Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, where she studies Japan's nonproliferation and disarmament policy and coordinates several nonproliferation and disarmament education programs.

Recent work: 
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Articles by Masako Toki

Opinion
17 July 2012
Nuclear Energy

Opportunity after the disaster

Masako Toki

Japan's energy policy is now at its most critical juncture since the inception of nuclear power in 1966. Nearly 16 months after the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station -- the world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl -- Japan's nuclear policy has finally started to transform.

Opinion
17 August 2011
Nuclear WeaponsNuclear Energy

Leaving its comfort zone: Japan's special role in creating a world free of nuclear weapons

Masako Toki

Who could have imagined a year ago that the ceremonies of the 66th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would be so poignant? Who could have imagined that Japan would have to endure another disaster derived from the energy source used to kill hundreds of thousands of people in 1945?

Opinion
3 November 2010
Nuclear WeaponsNuclear Energy

Japan’s dilemma: Nuclear trade vs nuclear disarmament advocacy

Masako Toki

In October, when Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met in Japan to announce the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, there were mixed reviews in Japan.

1 September 2010
Feature

Taking control: Stopping North Korean WMD-related procurement

Stephanie LieggiRobert ShawMasako Toki
North Korea’s efforts to obtain technology related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD) were recently revealed when two Japan-based traders were convicted for attempting to illegally transport sensitive materials.
Opinion
27 May 2009
Nuclear Weapons

The North Korean nuclear test: The Japanese reaction

Masako Toki

Only 50 days ago, Japan called on the U.N. Security Council to condemn North Korea's long-range missile launch. On May 25, Tokyo once again appealed to the Security Council for an emergency meeting to condemn Pyongyang--this time for its second nuclear test and its subsequent launch of three short-range missiles.

Opinion
3 April 2009
Nuclear Weapons

Japan's response to the North Korean satellite launch

Masako Toki

Japan has responded to North Korea's announcement that it intends to launch a communication satellite between April 4 and April 8, by mobilizing its missile defense system for the first time in the country's history. Although North Korea maintains it will launch a Kwangmyongsong-2 satellite into orbit, the United States, Japan, and South Korea suspect the launch is a cover story for a Taepodong-2 long-range ballistic missile test.

Opinion
16 January 2009
Nuclear Weapons

Missile defense in Japan

Masako Toki

Japanese security policy is at a crossroads, shifting from a traditional pacifist security policy to a more assertive security policy. As part of this shift, Tokyo is steadily moving toward the deployment of a more robust missile defense system, which the Japanese government doesn't think contradicts the country's "exclusively defensive defense" policy anyway. And while the debate about U.S. missile defense installations in Eastern Europe remains contentious, in East Asia, political debate about missile defense installations in Japan seems to be fading away.

Opinion
5 September 2008
Nuclear WeaponsNuclear Energy

Japan's struggle to limit illegal dual-use exports

Masako TokiStephanie Lieggi

Recent revelations of illegal transfers of sensitive materials by Japanese companies has again highlighted the fact that controlling the spread of dual-use materials remains a daunting challenge--even for a country with an advanced export-control system such as Japan.