Former U.S. President Barack Obama, whose call for a “world free of nuclear weapons” in his Prague speech earned him the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, became two years ago the first sitting U.S. president to visit Hiroshima. The U.S. strategy for nuclear weapons, however, did not undergo substantial changes during the Obama presidency. And his successor, Donald Trump, released a Nuclear Posture Review in February that promoted the use of smaller nuclear weapons that would be easier to use, and did not rule out pre-emptive nuclear attacks in order to protect the interests of the U.S. and its allies. Tokyo said it “highly appreciates” the new U.S. strategy in that it clarifies Washington’s commitment to providing extended deterrence to its allies.
