BEIJING, April 17 -- "We urge the Japanese side to stop its retrogressive moves and make a clean break with militarism. Otherwise, it will lose the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community," said Senior Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense (MND), at a press briefing on Friday.

It's reported that Japan's House of Councilors passed the fiscal budget for 2026, which includes a record-high defense expenditure exceeding 9 trillion yen. In addition, the Japanese government plans to officially revise the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology this month, which will allow the export of lethal weapons in principle.

To comment on that, the spokesperson noted that various signs have shown that the Japanese right-wing forces are pushing for a more offensive and expansionist defense policy. Their acts gravely violate instruments with legal effect under international law, such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, go against Japan's own Constitution and norms, and pose a serious threat to the post-war international order and regional peace and stability.

"The lessons of the past are still fresh in memory. Japanese militarism once inflicted untold suffering on the region and beyond, yet a reckoning with it has never been done after the WWII. Now, the Japanese side has completely stripped away its pretense and accelerated its pace of re-militarization, sparking deep concern and condemnation around the world," said the spokesperson.