TOPICS長崎大学核兵器廃絶研究センター(RECNA)

International Symposium2024 Victims of Nuclear Weapons in Global Contexts: Appealing- “No More Hibakusha” Now (Nov. 30, 2024)

2024年10月29日

International Symposium2024
Victims of Nuclear Weapons in Global Contexts: Appealing- “No More Hibakusha” Now ▶[JPN]

On Saturday, November 30, 2024, The international symposium will be held co-hosted by the Hiroshima Peace Institute (HPI), The Hiroshima Peace Media Center, and RECNA.

■Date: November 30, 2024 13:30-16:30 (JST)

■Venue: International Conference Center Hiroshima, Second Basement (B2F) “Himawari” (1-5 Nakashima-cho, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, JAPAN)

■Capacity: 450 people

■Entrance Fee: No charge *Advance registration is not required.

[Interpretation Provided］

■Hosts: The Hiroshima Peace Institute (HPI), Hiroshima City University (HCU)
The Chugoku Shimbun
The Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (RECNA), Nagasaki University

■Support: Hiroshima Platform for Peace Studies and Education

■Outline:
This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the Lucky Dragon incident after the Bravo H-Bomb Test at Bikini Atoll, which resulted in another human death caused by nuclear weapons after Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This year’s Academy Award winning movie “Oppenheimer” also brought attention towards the Trinity test, which was the first nuclear explosion in human history. The consecutive nuclear testing since the Cold War era by nuclear weapons states knowingly caused calamity through radioactive contaminations, making so-called “Global Hibakusha” victims. This symposium will critically question the proposition that nuclear weapons bear some utility and try to establish ways to strengthen the norm against nuclear weapons use, be it during the wartime or peacetime. Putting narratives of Hiroshima and Global Hibakusha in the same context will help us to find a path towards nuclear abolishment.

Category 2024年度, TOPICS, イベント情報

The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize is to be awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo).

2024年10月11日

Words of Congratulations on the Prize

It has been announced that the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize is to be awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo). We offer our sincere congratulations.

For many years, Nihon Hidankyo has persistently called for the abolition of nuclear weapons based on the experiences of the hibakusha. Its activities have helped to raise awareness regarding the inhumanity of nuclear weapons around the world and contributed greatly to the realization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This recognition of its efforts will surely provide a ray of hope for all those who are working towards a world without nuclear weapons. Today, where the threat of nuclear weapons use is mounting, we must deeply reflect on the significance of Nihon Hidankyo’s message: “Humanity must never again inflict nor suffer the sacrifice and torture we have experienced.” ¹

As a research institute in Japan with the phrase “nuclear weapons abolition” in its name, all of us at RECNA would like to express our heartfelt congratulations upon the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo.

¹ https://www.ne.jp/asahi/hidankyo/nihon/english/about/about1-02.html.

Category TOPICS

【Special report No.24】”Introduction: Reducing the Risk of Nuclear Weapons Use in Northeast Asia” （NU-NEA Project）

2024年10月7日

Introduction: Reducing the Risk of Nuclear Weapons Use in Northeast Asia

Shatabhisha Shetty

October 7, 2024

This report is published under a 4.0 International Creative Commons License the terms of which are found here.
This report is simultaneously published by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, Nautilus Institute, and the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA).
It was first published in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Acknowledgements: This article was commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

Abstract

This paper summarises the joint collaborative project between the Nautilus Institute, the Research Center for Nuclear Weapon Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA), the Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) and the Panel on Peace and Security of Northeast Asia (PSNA) examining cases of nuclear weapons use in a conflict in Northeast Asia by devising and analysing plausible pathways that could lead to the first use of nuclear weapons, and quantitatively estimating the fatalities and health effects of nuclear weapons use. The paper also describes the final year analysis with contributing essays by international experts and recommendations for narrowing the space for nuclear use-case scenarios to arise in the first place through forms of mutual threat reduction (structural risk reduction) and managing within-scenario risks (situational risk reduction) more responsibly if they arise.

Keywords: Nuclear Weapons; Northeast Asia; Korean Peninsula; Arms Control; Nuclear Risk Reduction

Authors’ Profile:

Shatabhisha Shetty is the Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN). She is a co-founder of the European Leadership Network (ELN), serving as Deputy Director for over a decade before joining the ELN Executive Board in 2020. She is a project advisory board member of Leicester University’s Third Nuclear Age, assessing strategic conventional weapons and the next revolution in the global nuclear order and sits on the Advisory Committee for Women in International Security-UK (WIIS-UK). Her research interests include nuclear and conventional arms control, disarmament diplomacy, great power politics, and emerging technologies, and she has written and spoken internationally on a range of related issues.

Full text (PDF) is here.

The views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the institutional positions.

The page for this project is here.

Category TOPICS

3rd Essay Contest Award Ceremony Held

2024年9月25日

3rd Essay Contest Award Ceremony Held 　　[JPN]

The Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA) has selected Grand Prize and Second Prize Award winners in the U-20 (16-20 years old) and U-30 (20-30 years old) categories for the third annual “Opinions on a Nuclear Weapons Free Future” and held an award ceremony as follows.

The two Grand Prize “opinions” were published in full in the September 22, 2024 issue of the Nagasaki Shimbun. (A Japanese article in the electronic edition of the same newspaper)

【 3rd “Opinion” Contest Award Ceremony 】


Group photo of award ceremony attendees		Award winners being interviewed


DATE/TIME：	Saturday, September 21, 2024 　Award Ceremony: 13:00-14:00 　Press Interviews: 14:00-14:30

VENUE：	1st floor, Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University

PROGRAM：	(MC: Keiko Nakamura, Associate Professor, RECNA) 1. Opening Remarks 　　by Prof. Fumihiko Yoshida, Director of RECNA 2. Announcement of Winners and Award Ceremony U-20 Division Announcement of the Second Prize winner, Presentation of Certificate and Plaque 　by Mr. Yuichi Seirai, Chairman of the Selection Committee 　Speech by the Second Prize Winner (Ms. Tomoko Ogawa) Announcement of the Grand Prize Winner, Presentation of Certificate and Plaque 　by Mr. Seirai, Chairman of the Selection Committee 　Speech by the Grand Prize Winner (Mr. Riki Ishiyama) U-30 Division Announcement of the Second Prize winner, Presentation of Certificate and Plaque 　by Mr. Seirai, Chairman of the Selection Committee 　Speech by the Second Prize Winner (Ms. Saki Okamoto) Announcement of the Grand Prize Winner, Presentation of Certificate and Plaque 　by Mr. Seirai, Chairman of the Selection Committee 　Speech by the Grand Prize Winner (Mr. Atsuhito Nishiyama) 3. Comment on the awarded essays 　 by Mr. Seirai, Chairman of the Selection Committee 4. Comments by the other members of the Selection Committee 　 by Mr.Yamada, Ms.Murakami, Ms.Hatakeyama and Ms.Nakamura 5. Group Photography

PRESS Interviews：	Speakers: Mr. Seirai, Award winners Moderator: Prof. Tatsujiro Suzuki, RECNA

Category 2024年度, TOPICS, イベント情報

Winners of the 3rd Essay Contest Announced

2024年9月21日

Winners of the 3rd Essay Contest Announced 　　[JPN]

The Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA) held a call for “opinions” applying to the 3rd Essay Contest on “Nuclear Weapons and Our Future”, with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of nuclear weapons issues among the younger generation and fostering human resources who can contribute to the realization of a peaceful international society.

We are pleased to announce that we have selected one Grand Prize winner and one Second Prize winner in each of the U-20 (16 to 20 years old) and U-30 (20 to 30 years old) divisions.

［⇒ 3rd Essay Contest Award Ceremony］

【 Winners： 2 Grand Prize Winners, 2 Second Prize Winners 】
* Age at time of application.

U-20: Grand Prize		Riki Ishiyama（17 years old） Currently enrolled in Berkshire school in Massachusetts. United States. Raised in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, until the third year of junior high school, and currently attending high school in the United States. A fourth-generation survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, actively engaged in peace activities. ［Opinion in English］［Japanese tr. by RECNA］
U-30: Grand Prize		Atsuhito Nishiyama（27 years old） Lives in Kyoto City. Office worker. ［Opinion in Japanese］
U-20: Second Prize		Tomoko Ogawa（18 years old） Currently enrolled in Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University. Lives in Beppu City, Oita Prefecture. She started engaging in activities focused on nuclear issues in an inquiry-based learning class at Ritsumeikan Moriyama Senior High School. Through these activities, she developed a desire to address nuclear issues and peace efforts with people from various backgrounds, not limited to Japan. After enrolling at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU), she continues to study various social issues and global business from a multifaceted perspective. ［Opinion in Japanese］
U-30: Second Prize		Saki Okamoto（24 years old） Currently enrolled in Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. Majoring in hydrology, with additional interests in energy resources and international cooperation. Also involved in STEAM education as the executive director of the Japan Astronomy Olympiad Committee and as a board member of the Japan Committee of the International Linguistics Olympiad. ［Opinion in Japanese］

【 U-20: 6 Finalists excluding winners / 12 Total Applicants 】
【 U-30: 14 Finalists excluding winners / 39 Total Applicants 】

Category 2024年度, TOPICS, イベント情報

Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament: Vol.7, Issue 1 is now out

2024年7月26日

Vol.7, Issue 1 of Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament (J-PAND) is now available online. There are 20 open access articles.

For the issue, see here. This is the second special issue on “Irreversibility in Global Nuclear Politics,” which carries case study articles. Another special feature of the issue is“ Reducing the Risk of Nuclear Weapons Use in Northeast Asia,” one of the RECNA’s recent projects.

Category TOPICS

【Policy Paper 20-E】”For a World Free of Nuclear Weapons: Discussions Toward the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW” published

2024年7月18日

REC-PP-20-E

For a World Free of Nuclear Weapons: Discussions Toward the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW (July 2024)

Kazuko HIKAWA, Kimiaki KAWAI, Michiru NISHIDA, Tatsujiro SUZUKI, Toshinori YAMADA

★ Full text of REC-PP-20-E (PDF) is here.
★ List of RECNA Policy Papers is here.

Category TOPICS

【Special report No.23】”The Political Reckoning in a Post-Nuclear Use Landscape” （NU-NEA Project）

2024年7月11日

Image: In the background, a Urakami Cathedral on a hill in Nagasaki.
U.S. National Archives, 1945. 77-AEC-52-4459.

The Political Reckoning in a Post-Nuclear Use Landscape

Rabia Akhtar

July 11, 2024

This report is published under a 4.0 International Creative Commons License the terms of which are found here.
This report is simultaneously published by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, Nautilus Institute, and the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA).
It was first published in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Acknowledgements: This article was commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

Abstract

The international landscape, particularly in Northeast Asia, is portrayed as volatile due to the presence of nuclear-armed states, territorial disputes, and escalating geopolitical tensions. Considering this reality, this paper delves into the political ramifications of potential nuclear use in the Northeast Asia. It scrutinizes conceivable power shifts, the evolving role of anti-nuclear groups, and the broader impact on security policies. The exploration extends to scenarios post-nuclear use, encompassing positive, negative, and complex outcomes. The paper concludes by offering recommendations to policymakers, underscoring the imperative of substantive dialogues on arms control and conflict resolution to avert catastrophic nuclear events. Overall, the paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted challenges posed by nuclear weapons in Northeast Asia and offers valuable insights for crafting a more secure global environment. Recent developments point towards a disconcerting unraveling of arms control structures and a growing threat to the nonproliferation regime. The paper underscores the dynamic evolution of nuclear deterrence, highlighting the strategic use of emerging technologies by states to reshape the balance of vulnerabilities.

Keywords: nuclear weapons; Asia-Pacific; North Korea; arms control; deterrence

Authors’ Profile:

Rabia Akhtar is Dean Faculty of Social Sciences at University of Lahore. A Professor of International Relations, she is also the founding Director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Policy Research and of the School of Integrated Social Sciences at the University of Lahore, Pakistan. Dr. Akhtar has a PhD in Security Studies from Kansas State University. She holds Masters degrees in International Relations from Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and in Political Science from Eastern Illinois University, USA. Her scholarly pursuits have revolved around key areas such as South Asian nuclear security, deterrence dynamics, media in the age of deep fakes and disinformation, nuclear weapons, AI and emerging technologies, Pakistan’s foreign policy and national security imperatives, as well as regional and international security issues. She has authored a book titled, ‘The Blind Eye: U.S. Non-proliferation Policy Towards Pakistan from Ford to Clinton’, which showcases her expertise in the field. Moreover, she serves as the Editor of Pakistan Politico, Pakistan’s pioneering magazine on strategic and foreign affairs. Not only has Dr. Akhtar made significant contributions to academia, but she has also played a vital role in shaping foreign policy as a member of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Advisory Council on Foreign Affairs from 2018 to 2022. She is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the South Asia Center, Atlantic Council, Washington DC, and a Nonresident Fellow at BASIC, UK. Dr. Akhtar serves as a visiting faculty at the NATO Defence College, Rome, the NPIHP Nuclear Bootcamp, Rome and ISODARCO, Andalo, Italy. Dr. Akhtar is a visiting scholar (2024-2025) at the Project on Managing the Atom, Belfer Center, Harvard Kennedy School.

Full text (PDF) is here.

The views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the institutional positions.

The page for this project is here.

Category TOPICS

【Special report No.22】”No First Use Can Still Help to Reduce US-China Nuclear Risks” （NU-NEA Project）

2024年7月2日

Image: President Joe Biden hosts a bilateral meeting with President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, Wednesday, November 15, 2023, at the Filoli Estate in Woodside, California. Official White House Photo by Adam Schultz/Wikimedia Commons

No First Use Can Still Help to Reduce US-China Nuclear Risks

Adam Mount

July 2, 2024

This report is published under a 4.0 International Creative Commons License the terms of which are found here.
This report is simultaneously published by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, Nautilus Institute, and the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA).
It was first published in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Acknowledgements: This article was commissioned by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

Abstract

No first use declaratory statements are unlikely to significantly affect US-China nuclear crises. China’s nuclear buildup raises serious questions about the meaning and durability of its longstanding declaratory policy, while the United States is unlikely to issue a similar statement. However, no first use can still play an important role in reducing risks between the two countries. First, both countries can take practical planning and posture measures to reduce their reliance on nuclear first use. Second, a bilateral discussion on no first use could lead to a valuable dialogue on the role of nuclear weapons in each country. It may be more consequential to do and discuss no first use than it is to say it.

Keywords: nuclear; no first use; China

Authors’ Profile:

Adam Mount, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, where his work covers U.S. nuclear strategy, conventional deterrence, and progressive foreign policy. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the Department of Government at Georgetown and a B.A. from Reed College.

Full text (PDF) is here.

The views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the institutional positions.

The page for this project is here.

Category TOPICS

【Special report No.21】”East Asia’s Alliance Dilemma: Public Perceptions of the Competing Risks of Extended Nuclear Deterrence” （NU-NEA Project）

2024年6月7日

Image: U.S. Pacific Fleet, 201020-N-NO824-0097. SOUTH CHINA SEA (Oct. 20, 2020) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), rear, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer JS Kirisame (DD 104), middle, and Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta (FFH 151) sail together in the South China Sea during multinational exercises. These exercises marked the fifth time of 2020 that Australia, Japan, and the U.S. have conducted operations together in the 7th Fleet area of operations. (Courtesy photo)

East Asia’s Alliance Dilemma:
Public Perceptions of the Competing Risks of Extended Nuclear Deterrence

Lauren Sukin and Woohyeok Seo

June 7, 2024

This report is published under a 4.0 International Creative Commons License the terms of which are found here.
This report is simultaneously published by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, Nautilus Institute, and the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University (RECNA).
It was first published in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Abstract

Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing security environment in East Asia, regional actors have seen a surge in “nuclear anxiety.” Worries among citizens of US allies and partners about rising nuclear threats and nuclear proliferation risks critically shape US foreign policy in East Asia. This paper thus asks: What drives nuclear anxiety in East Asia? And how can the United States most effectively resolve it? We situate nuclear anxiety in the dynamics of abandonment and entrapment that exist between allied states, as well as in the unique regional security structure, or the hub-and-spoke system in East Asia. To better understand the implications of nuclear anxiety on regional nuclear policy, we analyze the results of an original survey conducted in June 2023 across Washington’s five allies and partners in East Asia: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. The survey results suggest the presence of the dynamics of both nuclear entrapment and abandonment among these regional actors, as well as mixed interests in indigenous nuclear programs. In addition, we demonstrate how citizens of East Asia evaluate possible policy options that could help Washington mitigate regional nuclear anxiety.

Keywords: nuclear; alliances; East Asia; proliferation; security

Authors’ Profile:

Lauren Sukin is an Assistant Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom.
Woohyeok Seo is a Ph.D. Candidate in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science in the United Kingdom.

Full text (PDF) is here.

The views represented herein are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the institutional positions.

The page for this project is here.

Category TOPICS