The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Dr. Akira Omoto, Commisioner of the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission, will discuss the Fukushima accident, the response and current status of the site, and lessons learned.
Before assuming the current position, until 2009, he was Director of the Division of Nuclear Power of the IAEA. As a director, he had worked in support of existing nuclear reactors for excellence in operation, of countries considering introduction of nuclear power and of reactor technology development. Before serving for the IAEA, until 2003, he was a General Manager of the Department of Nuclear Engineering of The Tokyo Electric Power Company. By education, he is a nuclear engineer. He graduated from the Department of Nuclear Engineering of the University of Tokyo and later received his doctoral degree from the same university.