Skip to main content
eScholarship
Open Access Publications from the University of California

UC Berkeley Library

Charlene Conrad Liebau Library Prize for Undergraduate Research bannerUC Berkeley

The Tokai Reprocessing Issue: Japan’s Rise to Elite Nation Status in the 1970s

Abstract

Ms. Shih's senior History thesis explores a diplomatic negotiation between the U.S. and Japan that took place over several months in 1977. At stake was whether a Japanese nuclear energy plant at Tokai would be allowed to reprocess spent fuel from the U.S. despite President Jimmy Carter's nonproliferation policy. Ms. Shih describes how resolution of the negotiations in Japan's favor contributed to its rise as an elite nation. Her investigation led her to books from Berkeley and other UC campuses, the library's subscription to the Digital National Security Archives, and a research trip to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library in Atlanta. Professor Luke Franks writes that, "Ms. Shih's undergraduate thesis is one of the finest I've ever encountered, and its success is in large part due to her understanding of the importance of primary source documentation, and her determination in seeking these out."

Main Content
For improved accessibility of PDF content, download the file to your device.
Current View