The Fukushima Issue - In Japanese

The English-language version of the September/October issue can be found here.

From the Bulletin archives: Selected readings on Chernobyl

The crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant following the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, has brought the past tragedies at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island into the spotlight again. To offer a more thorough understanding of Chernobyl, the Bulletin has compiled this reading list from its archives. Dating from 1945 to 1998 and 1998 to present, the Bulletin's archives are a valuable resource for those interested in additional materials.

April 26, 2011, marks the 25-year anniversary of Chernobyl. In an effort to understand the lessons -- both learned and forgotten -- from this disaster, the Bulletin asked seven authors, including former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, to put this tragedy in perspective. Their articles can be found in the current issue of the Bulletin's digital journal titled "Chernobyl: Looking back, moving forward." The journal issue was intended to be reflective. Sadly, it turned out to be prescient.

From the Bulletin archives: Selected readings on Three Mile Island

The nuclear crisis in Japan following the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, has brought the past tragedies at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl into the spotlight again. To offer a more thorough understanding of Three Mile Island, the Bulletin has compiled this reading list from its archives. Dating from 1945 to 1998 and 1998 to present, the Bulletin's archives are a valuable resource for those interested in additional materials.

Japan in focus: A collection of the Bulletin's coverage

As the Bulletin continues to publish erudite analysis and opinion pieces from the world's top experts, these writings will be archived here to create a valuable resource for our readers.

Solutions for Copenhagen

As the climate change meetings kick off in Copenhagen today, many skeptics suggest little progress can be made in the next two weeks. This isn't for lack of solutions. In fact, for months, Bulletin authors have been proposing ways in which to build and support international strategies toward slowing climate change. Are the world's politicians and diplomats listening?

Semipalatinsk: 60 years later

Between 1949 and 1989, the Soviet Union conducted 456 nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in what is today Kazakhstan. It did so with little regard for the local population's safety or health. Sixty years have gone by since the first test, but for the Kazakh people, the Soviet testing program still presents a complicated legacy.

European missile defense reversed

It's official. The Obama administration announced today that the contentious Bush-era missile defense system proposed for Eastern Europe is no more. Russia welcomed the news; Poland and the Czech Republic were dismayed. But it's clear that administration officials agree with what Bulletin experts have said all along--the plan was rife with technical and political problems.

The evolution of ElBaradei

Expected to be a conventional bureaucrat when he took office, Mohamed ElBaradei led the International Atomic Energy Agency through 12 years of tumult and set an ambitious course for the agency that some worry can never be realized. In a one-on-one interview and in interviews with those close to him, the Bulletin takes a look at the ElBaradei era and beyond.

The North Korean nuclear test

Once again, North Korea has managed to capture the world's attention with its nuclear weapons program--this time by conducting its second nuclear test. Not surprisingly, the action drew scorn from Pyongyang's allies (e.g., China) and adversaries (e.g., the United States) alike. A technical and political look at Monday's test.

The legacy of Iraq's nuclear weapons program

Saddam's nuclear weapons program is destroyed, but its impact on Iraq and its people persists. For years independent experts and international monitors tried to piece together the facts. Now a new report by a U.S.-led research team offers the most complete accounting to date of the condition of Al Tuwaitha, the country's largest former nuclear weapons site.