Japan

The worst disaster in Japan since the second world war hit the country's north-east coastal region on 11 March 2011. The combination of tsunami and nuclear crisis presented the media with great practical problems and ethical concerns. Wataru Sawamura, an experienced journalist with the leading newspaper the Asahi Shimbun, reflects on how he and his colleagues sought to fulfil their professional responsibilities as the tragedy unfolded.

The tsunami and nuclear accident made 2011 an especially hard year for Japan. But the questions raised by the experience are similar to those being asked across the world, says Takashi Inoguchi.

Jim Gabour sees the graphic of living through nineteenth-century Japanese woodcuts to Drag Bingo, via West Coast illustrators and his own country and western posters

The city of Kobe died twice: once through being bombed in 1945, and subsequently by earthquake in 1995. As a result of both this and the hasty ‘restoration’ process, you can only see in a few bullet marks on one pier of the Owada Bridge, crossing over Hyogo Canal in downtown Kobe, the real legacy of the Kobe bombing. The author is speaking at this week’s Shock and Awe conference.

Forces of globalization provide the link between the areas of extreme criminal violence in poorer countries and the random attacks carried out by fundamentalists in the west. On all sides, economic interconnectedness has brought wealth to some, criminal opportunities to others, and vulnerability to everyone.

China’s first aircraft carrier made its maiden voyage from Dalian port. The United States has refused to sell F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan. Indian anti-corruption activist, Anna Hazare has been arrested. Russia’s S-500 system could be included in NATO’s missile defense in Europe. All this in today’s security briefing…

Pakistan and India have revived the peace process after the foreign ministers of the two countries met in New Delhi. North Korean envoy is in New York to hold nuclear talks. Russian navy to commission eight Graney class nuclear submarines by 2020. Powerful bomb blast rocks Cotabato City, Southern Philippines. All this in today's security briefing...

The author reported on the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and from on Fukushima in 2011. The silver lining of Chernobyl was that it really did ignite the process of glasnost. Unfortunately, though much needed, that is unlikely to happen in Japan because of the grip of the "nuclear village" on Japanese politics. The pressure group has seen off challenges from clean energy alternatives and has deep tentacles in the postwar Japanese state

As we pursue the abolition of nuclear weapons, we also need to phase out reliance on nuclear energy. Both are incompatible with our environmental and human security, says Rebecca Johnson.

The effects of the catastrophic earthquake in Japan’s northeast will be felt for years to come. How Japan responds will help to define its capacity to meet other 21st-century tests, says David Hayes.

The so-called nuclear renaissance is irrational. Just look to Libya and Japan.

Based on her fieldwork research on Filipinas in the sex industries in Japan, the author examines the traps and contradictions government regulators encounter in their attempt to control trafficking

Hassan Nasrallah calls for a boycott of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. A diplomatic row between China and Japan over disputed island territories flares up at an Asean summit. Iran has agreed to renew negotiations over its nuclear programme. Gunfire breaks out along the border between North and South Korea. All this and more, in today’s security update…

Ban seeks to placate Kagame over UN report. China warns Japan over fishing boat incident. ‘Nigerian Taliban’ raid jail, freeing prisoners. Bombing rocks Russian market. Clinton describes Mexico drugs crime as “like an insurgency.” All this and more in today’s briefing.

Will China follow the course Mackinder plotted in relation to Tsarist Russia, turning inward once maritime expansion is checked?

Daniel Bruno Sanz reviews the sci-fi imaginings of nuclear war and their place in contemporary consciousness.

Turkey looks to minimise its ties to Israel after the IDF raid on the peace flotilla. In Afghanistan the peace jirga endorses President Karzai’s peace plan. The Japanese Prime Minister resigns after failing to shift US bases from Okinawa. All this and more, in today’s security update…

Secret document shows Iran working on key nuclear bomb component. Car bomb kills eight near Kabul hotel. Japan postpones decision on US Okinawa base. Sri Lanka general denies surrendered Tamil rebels shot. All this and much more in today’s security update.

Multiple explosions kill over 100 people in Baghdad. Gates to put pressure on Karzai in Kabul. US envoy commences talks with North Korea. Deadly attacks strike Pakistani cities. All this and more in today’s update.

The US Ambassador to Kabul cables the Whitehouse expressing his reservations about troop increases. President Obama faces diplomatic hurdles in his visit to Japan. Saudi Arabia evacuates villages and closes schools in response to escalating violence in Yemen. All this and more, in today’s security update.