By Lu Hao

Japan has continued to send provocative signals abroad recently, making its intention to collude with external forces and disrupt regional security increasingly evident. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer JS Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait without authorization on April 17, deliberately provoking tensions over the Taiwan question. During the same period, a NATO delegation visited Japan at Tokyo's invitation to discuss security cooperation, further advancing NATO's military reach into the Asia-Pacific. Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi also visited Australia and signed a memorandum on the export of Mogami-class frigates. Taken together, these closely linked moves clearly outline Japan's dangerous roadmap by binding itself more tightly to US-led alliances, building exclusive military blocs, and fueling bloc confrontation and military tensions in the Asia-Pacific.

Japan's strategic shift has moved beyond policy rhetoric and taken concrete form, with the new Diplomatic Bluebook serving as both the political program and legal packaging for its push toward remilitarization. The document is steeped in Cold War mentality, deliberately exaggerating geopolitical rivalry and elevating the US-Japan alliance as the central pillar of diplomacy and security. It calls for deeper military and security cooperation with Australia, India, and European countries. In essence, this is an effort to build a closed military bloc centered on the US and Japan, using alliance structures to pull the Asia-Pacific into bloc confrontation and an arms race.

Actively bringing NATO into the Asia-Pacific is a key move in Japan's effort to reshape the regional geopolitical landscape. The recent NATO delegation's visit to Japan is larger in scale than previous visits, with its agenda focused directly on defense integration and the implementation of military deployment arrangements. The delegation held intensive talks with senior Japanese officials in the defense and foreign affairs sectors to coordinate regional security policies and align military actions. It also visited defense contractors such as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to advance joint weapons development, technical standards alignment, and the integration of defense supply chains. This is far more than a routine exchange. It marks a substantive step forward in NATO's "Asia-Pacificization" and exposes Japan's intention to collude with external forces and disrupt regional security. Analysts point out that such dangerous collusion between the two sides will bring more destabilizing factors to the Asia-Pacific.

Japan is increasingly using loosened arms export restrictions to project its remilitarization ambitions beyond its borders. The Japanese government on April 21 approved a cabinet decision completing revisions to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and their implementation guidelines, in principle permitting the export of finished weapons systems, including lethal weapons. Under certain conditions, Japan may also export weapons to countries involved in ongoing conflicts. By supplying advanced weapons and equipment to its allies, Japan will further activate its military-industrial capacity and strengthen strategic ties with external partners. The lifting of restrictions on arms exports not only brings major profits to Japan's military-industrial complex, but also enables its military influence to extend beyond its territory, reinforcing its capability to interfere in regional affairs and compete for maritime interests, thus posing a serious threat to Asia-Pacific maritime security and strategic stability.

The objective behind Japan's series of provocative moves is to fully break free from the constraints of the postwar international order and comprehensively expand its military capabilities and operational authority. Japan understands that it cannot easily break through the limits imposed by its pacifist constitution through its own efforts. It has therefore chosen to bind itself more deeply to the US and draw NATO into the Asia-Pacific, creating an "inside-outside linkage" path toward remilitarization. Domestically, under the pretext of responding to regional threats, Japan continues to increase defense spending and develop offensive military capabilities. Externally, it is strengthening military integration within the US-Japan alliance and actively positioning itself as NATO's "Asia-Pacific proxy," in exchange for tacit support from the US and its partners for its remilitarization agenda.

History has long proven that military expansion and bloc confrontation are never the right path to national security. They only create vicious cycles and sow the seeds of future conflict. Japan, which should deeply reflect on its history of aggression and honor the commitments of its pacifist constitution, is instead deliberately seeking to break through military constraints, colluding with external forces to stir up regional confrontation, and openly undermining the postwar international order. With such actions, Japan will ultimately bring disaster upon itself.

(The author is from the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)