By Liu Lin
Japan launched a Type 88 missile during the Balikatan joint exercise on May 6, 2026, marking the first time Japan had fired an offensive missile outside its territory. In the special year marking the 80th anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, commonly known as the Tokyo Trials, the former aggressor has not engaged in serious reflection on its historical crimes. Instead, under the pretext of so-called "security cooperation," it has dispatched military forces overseas and launched offensive missiles abroad. This once again demonstrates that Japan's neo-militarism is gaining momentum and becoming a serious threat to regional peace and stability.
The US-Philippines Balikatan 2026 joint exercise was held in multiple locations across the Philippines. Japan dispatched around 1,400 troops from its Maritime, Ground, and Air Self-Defense Forces, along with military equipment including the helicopter destroyer JS Ise (DDH-182), the destroyer JS Ikazuchi (DD-107), Type 88 anti-ship missiles , and C-130 military transport aircraft , making it a major participating party alongside the US and the Philippines.
Japan's participation this time is markedly different from previous years. First, its role has fundamentally changed. Since 2012, Japan had taken part in the Balikatan joint exercise only as an "observer," limited mainly to non-combat tasks. However, after the Japan-Philippines Reciprocal Access Agreement officially entered into force in September 2025, allowing the two countries to deploy troops on each other's territory, Japan became a formal participant and was able to send combat units as well as military troops from cyber operations, technical support, medical services, and logistics to fully engage in combat-oriented drills. Second, the scope of Japan's participation has expanded significantly. In this year's exercise, Japan took part in a wide range of operational activities, including counter-landing operations, integrated air and missile defense, cyber attacks, medical support, and rapid runway repair. This not only marks a further deepening of Japan-Philippines military cooperation, but also exposes Japan's accelerating efforts to extend the reach of its military expansion beyond its own territory.
For years, Japan has continued to break through the constraints of the pacifist Constitution, steadily strengthening its overseas military projection and deployment capabilities, with such actions becoming increasingly routine. In the Indian Ocean direction, Japan has dispatched naval vessels to the Gulf of Aden for anti-piracy operations since 2009. The so-called "anti-piracy base" established in Djibouti in 2011 became Japan's first permanent overseas military facility. In the Pacific direction, Japan has normalized participation in joint exercises such as Talisman Sabre with its allies, continuously strengthening military deployments on outlying islands. It has also continued to push forward the fortification of Iwo Jima, attempting to turn it into a core stronghold of the second island chain. In the European direction, in September 2025, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force launched the operation Atlantic Eagles, deploying F-15J fighter jets, C-2 transport aircraft, and other equipment to NATO bases in countries including the UK and Germany, marking the first deployment of Japanese military aircraft to Europe since WWII.
At the same time, the large-scale deployment of equipment such as the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor and KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling tanker along with the signing of Reciprocal Access Agreements with countries such as Australia and the Philippines has provided strong support for Japan's rapid cross-domain force projection and forward deployment. Japan's overseas military activities continue to expand geographically, while constantly crossing new lines in both the nature of operations and the depth of participation. These developments inevitably raise serious concerns across the international community.
Despite stern warnings from the international community and strong protests within Japan itself, the Japanese authorities continue to race down the dangerous path of military expansion. On April 21, 2026, the Japanese government completed revisions to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology and their implementation guidelines, formally lifting restrictions on the export of lethal weapons. Japan has also carried out a series of major reforms within the Self-Defense Forces, including what has been described as the largest-ever reorganization of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, the expansion of operations in the cognitive domain, and the enlargement of its space-related military units. Even more seriously, the Japanese government has once again forced constitutional revision onto the political agenda, attempting to remove the legal obstacles to its remilitarization.
As a defeated country of WWII, Japan should recognize the lessons of history, stop its military adventurism, abide by the pacifist Constitution and the principles of international law, and uphold the bottom line of peace. If Japan's right-wing forces remain obsessed with reviving militarism, what awaits them will inevitably be the tragic fate that befalls all aggressors. Those who pursue war will perish by it.
(The author is from the Institute of International Strategic Studies, the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance))