By Zhang Yini and Ma Longbiao
During WWII, the imperial Japan waged war of aggression, committed innumerable crimes and inflicted immense suffering on the people of Asia and the whole world. As one of the key architects of the postwar international order, the US should have urged Japan to deeply reflect on its historical guilt and adhere to the path of peaceful development. However, Washington has repeatedly given green light to Japan's military expansion, gravely endangering regional security and stability.
America's indulgence of Japan's rearmament can be traced back to the Cold War. To counter the so-called Soviet threat, the core of US policy toward Japan shifted from restraining militarism to exploiting military potential. In 1951, the US and Japan signed the Japan-US security treaty, establishing a military alliance characterized by US dominance and Japan's subordination, which laid the groundwork for Japan's eventual return to military expansion.
However, after the end of Cold War, US indulgence of Japan's military expansion has not ceased. In recent years, the US has regarded Japan as a pawn in advancing its so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy and intervention in regional affairs, thus allowing Tokyo to pursue military unshackling through various means.
The US has consistently condoned and even abetted Japan in breaking through the constraints of its pacifist constitution. As early as 1954, under Washington's instigation, Japan departed from the constitutional provision that "land, sea, and air forces, as well as other war potential, will never be maintained" and formally established the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces. In 2014, the Abe administration lifted the ban on collective self-defense, allowing the Self-Defense Forces to abandon the "exclusively defense-oriented" commitment. This step further lowered the threshold for Japan to wage war or become directly involved in international armed conflicts, drawing criticism from the international community. However, then US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel openly declared that the US encourages and supports such efforts.
The US has been actively promoting the upgrading of its military alliance with Japan. In 2024, Washington and Tokyo announced what they called the largest upgrade of the Japan-US security treaty in more than six decades, transforming the alliance from a defensive partnership characterized by US dominance and Japan's subordination into a military alliance that is both offensive and defensive, granting Japan greater military authority. The role of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) has shifted from providing logistical support to US forces to assuming a more offensive posture. In March this year, Japan's Ministry of Defense established a new Joint Operations Command, marking a new stage of deeper integration in Japan-US military coordination.
The US has been enhancing Japan's military capabilities through the sale and deployment of advanced weapons. In recent years, the US has provided Japan with a range of advanced weaponry, significantly expanding the operational scope and offensive capabilities of the JSDF. In 2023, the US military established a new Marine Littoral Regiment in Okinawa, equipped with high-performance systems such as the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) and MQ-9 Reaper drones. In 2024, Washington and Tokyo signed a contract under which the US will deliver approximately 400 Tomahawk cruise missiles, each with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers, to Japan between fiscal years 2025 and 2027. This January, the US State Department further approved the sale of a new batch of JASSM-ER air-launched cruise missiles to be mounted on Japan's F-35A and F-15J fighter jets. At the same time, the US has assisted Japan in converting its aircraft carriers and has jointly developed new platforms such as loyal-wingman drones and advanced interceptors against hypersonic weapons.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The flames and smoke of Pearl Harbor over 80 years ago, remain vivid in historical memory, yet Washington continues to "loosen the shackles" for Japan's militarism. What may appear as a short-term gain for the US is, in reality, nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst.
Japan's ambition to become a major power decides that it would not remain forever a mere strategic pawn of the US. Once militarism is revived, Washington will find it increasingly difficult to rein in Tokyo. Eventually, the US would nurture a power that could ultimately turn against itself. More importantly, the US indulgence of Japan's military expansion is deeply undermining the regional security architecture and could even trigger a dangerous arms race. Both the US and Japan should take history as a mirror, draw profound lessons from the past, avoid backsliding into dangerous precedents, and take concrete actions that contribute to regional peace and stability.
(The author is from the National University of Defense Technology)