Heidi Alexander: “as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield once said, ``the U.S.-Japan relationship is the most important bilateral…”

“as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield once said, ``the U.S.-Japan relationship is the most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none.'' About a month ago, China Daily ran an article in which they compared the United States' nuclear program to Rip Van Winkle, the legendary American folk hero who fell asleep for 20 years after a night of carousing with Henry Hudson's men in the Catskill Mountains. ``A thunder from China has woken up Uncle Sam, like Rip Van Winkle, from a 20-year nap, to a different world,'' boasted the China Daily article. ``This world is in the midst of a Green Revolution. It is the biggest sea change since the Industrial Revolution, and Uncle Sam has slept too long to take the lead in this new movement.'' I am not sure that this is really the case, but the point in well taken. Out of fear and mistrust, and after a few bad accidents, the U.S. 30 years ago decided to put aside construction of new nuclear powerplants. Our domestic nuclear industry still kept plodding along, learning to operate the plants we had more efficiently and trying to sell new plants abroad. But overall we atrophied. Our nuclear construction capabilities withered while other countries' capabilities flourished. And so here we are, 30 years later, with a much smaller nuclear industry that is missing critical parts, like the ability to manufacture the largest components. Meanwhile the rest of the world kept moving forward.…”