Editorial

16:30 JST, February 7, 2026

The New START Treaty — a nuclear disarmament framework between the United States and Russia that is formally known as the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms — expired on Thursday.

As the restraints that held back the two nuclear powers have ceased to exist, concerns have arisen that moves for nuclear buildups and development could spread to other countries.

The treaty came into force in 2011. It limited the number of each side’s deployed nuclear warheads, such as those capable of being mounted on long-range ballistic missiles to strike an adversary’s core targets, to 1,550, while calling for mutually conducting on-site inspections and sharing information, among other measures.

The termination of the treaty could result in a return to an arms race between the United States and Russia, with both........

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