A year after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, all but two of the country's 54 nuclear reactors are shut down. The Japanese people remain confused, apprehensive and distrustful of government statements and reassurances. The future of the nuclear power industry remains uncertain domestically even while exports of nuclear technology and materials continue.
Fukushima stands as Japan's greatest humanitarian disaster since 1945. The official death toll is 15,854 killed, with another 3,155 missing and more than 6,000 injured. Nearly 344,000 people were evacuated. Many are still unable to return to their homes and some never will. The toll on the physical heath and mental well-being has also been heavy. It may not be possible to decommission the ruined reactors for several decades.
Coincidentally on the anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that caused the disaster in the Fukushima reactor, a small group of nuclear experts met in Tokyo under the auspices of the Toda Institute to discuss the fragile state of the global nuclear order. We concluded that the world is at a crossroads on all three dimensions of nuclear policy: the use of civil nuclear energy for electrical power, nuclear nonproliferation, and nuclear disarmament.