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Jonathan Tirone
For Jonathan Tirone's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Vapor rises from cooling towers of a nuclear power station in Bugey, France. Geopolitical instability and war are putting the growth of nuclear power, a key clean energy source to combat climate change, at risk.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy
Apr 26, 2024
Nuclear power’s expansion risks collapse on widening conflicts
Meeting nuclear energy targets requires adding 800 gigawatts over 25 years, equivalent to launching 30 large reactors annually until 2050.
Draft documents show a hole of about €220 million ($235 million) in the International Atomic Energy Agency’s €650 million budget for this year, with the U.S. and China being the biggest debtors.
WORLD / Politics
Sep 15, 2023
Nuke watchdog risks running out of money amid U.S.-China tensions
The last time the IAEA was in such dire financial straits was in the mid-1990s.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 3, 2023
Minireactor cost surge threatens nuclear’s next big thing
High inflation and rising interest rates are driving up the cost of a new generation of miniature atomic reactors that the nuclear industry is relying on to lift sales.
Japan Times
WORLD
Apr 21, 2023
Heat and drought force Europe to confront growing pain from climate change
Record summer temperatures decimated harvests across France and central Europe last year, while climate-related losses worldwide soared to an estimated $270 billion.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 28, 2023
Putin’s Belarus nuclear move is at odds with China pledge
Russia and China declared that 'all nuclear weapons states should refrain from deploying nuclear weapons abroad” in a joint statement at the end of Xi’s visit to Moscow.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 6, 2023
Climate change is launching a mutant-seed space race
Seeds are being exposed to more-intense solar radiation in space in a trial to induce genetic mutations so they can survive a warming planet.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 1, 2023
China’s imports of Russian uranium spark fear of new arms race
China’s burgeoning capacity to expand its atomic weaponry comes as the last remaining treaty limiting the strategic stockpiles of the U.S. and Russia is on the verge of collapse.
Japan Times
WORLD
Feb 20, 2023
Nuclear inspectors in Iran find uranium enriched to 84% purity
Iran had previously told the IAEA that its centrifuges were configured to enrich uranium to a 60% level of purity.
Japan Times
WORLD
May 13, 2022
Biden’s hopes for Iran deal fade just when world needs oil most
For Iran, $100 per barrel oil has mitigated the urgency to secure sanctions relief. Crude prices have almost doubled since talks began a year ago.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 7, 2022
Europe’s other energy problem: Relying on Russian nuclear fuel
Trying to cut ties prematurely could imperil electricity supplies for almost 100 million Europeans in countries that rely on nuclear plants as their biggest source of clean energy.
Japan Times
WORLD
Mar 25, 2022
Russia’s war forcing U.S. to reevaluate revival of Iran nuclear deal
Two weeks after talks to revive the agreement were suspended, diplomats say it's not clear when negotiators might return to Vienna.
Japan Times
WORLD / ANALYSIS
Oct 27, 2021
Nuclear power’s awkward role in crucial COP26 climate talks
Anti-nuclear nations from Austria to New Zealand have opposed attempts to label atomic technology with the same credentials as wind or solar power.
Japan Times
WORLD / FOCUS
Oct 18, 2021
Nuclear analysts say watch China after gaming out Iran talks
That's the conclusion reached by top security analysts using game theory to forecast the next moves in the star-crossed talks.
Japan Times
WORLD
Aug 6, 2021
Nuclear talks enter danger zone as powers await Iran’s word
Ebrahim Raisi, Iran's new president, brings a staunchly anti-Western brand of politics to the executive branch.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2020
Atomic heat in small packages gives big industry a climate option
With miniature nuclear reactors, firms aim to feed pollution-free heat to industries that make steel, cement, glass and chemicals.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 15, 2020
SpaceX to launch satellite tracking rising sea levels
The mission will be to track how the accelerating rise of sea levels is changing coastlines, threatening the habitat of more than a third of the world's population.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 30, 2020
A new nuclear model could upend how countries count bombs
Nuclear analysts from the U.S. and Russia settled on a new method to account for atomic weapons that may shrink estimates on the size of North Korea’s arsenal and could be used to aid future disarmament.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Oct 21, 2019
Election of world's top nuclear peacekeeper shrouded in secrecy
When the head of the world's nuclear watchdog died in July, his death was kept secret for four days. Many people didn't even know Yukiya Amano was sick. The process that will see his post finally filled this week is shrouded in just as much mystery.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Sep 30, 2019
Greta effect shakes up Austrian politics in signal for Europe
Two days after rallying 7 million protesters across the world by invoking the threat of climate change, Greta Thunberg got credit for motivating voters to re-draw the political landscape in Austria.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores