Nuclear Testing and Aftermath in the Pacific Islands: Pacific Islander, US, and Japanese Perspectives from Cold War to Present

This paper explores how US Cold War nuclear testing in the Pacific Islands has been approached in three different regions \u2014affected Pacific Islands, the US, and Japan. Because the US has failed to adequately address its nuclear past in the Pacific Islands, and Pacific Islander narratives struggle to reach the international community on their own, my study considers the possibility of Pacific Islanders finding greater outlet for their perspectives within dominant Japanese narratives, which also feature nuclear memory. Whereas the US government has remained largely evasive and aloof about the consequences of its nuclear testing in the Pacific, Japan encourages active, anti-nuclear war memory that could be congruent with Pacific Islander interests. After examining historical events, surrounding context, and prevailing sentiments surrounding this issue in each region however, my study finds that even within Japanese narratives, Pacific Islander narratives can only go so far because of Japan's own nuclear power industry, its hierarchical relationship with the Pacific Islands, and Japan's strong ties to the US in what can be interpreted as enduring Cold War politics.