By Li Ziyue, Chen Ze'an and Liang Chen
Japan's Ministry of Defense released the "Defense of Japan 2026" white paper on August 4. The cover of the new white paper adopts a somewhat misleading manga-style design, featuring smiling young people against a futuristic urban backdrop in an apparent attempt to create a relaxed and harmonious atmosphere. However, behind this anime-style packaging reminiscent of a youthful campus setting, the white paper is imbued with Cold War thinking and a belligerent mindset.
Analysts believe the new white paper reflects the strategic priorities of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration, laying out a roadmap for sustained military expansion through measures such as transforming its operational systems and expanding its defense industry, thereby signaling a dangerous move to further break free from the post-war order and accelerate the country's shift toward becoming a "military state."
A DEFENSE REPORT BEARING TAKAICHI'S STAMP
The new white paper, for the first time, includes a dedicated chapter on "trends in new ways of warfare," drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine conflict while advocating expanded use of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence, stronger sustained combat capabilities, and the extension of defense planning into new domains including space, cyberspace and the electromagnetic spectrum.
Meanwhile, "Reinforcement of the Defense Production and Technological Bases" has been made a standalone Part IV, with significantly expanded coverage compared with last year's white paper. Under the pretext that developing the defense industry can "drive economic growth" and "promote technological innovation that benefits civilian society," the document seeks to provide a veneer of legitimacy for dangerous moves such as expanding joint research and development of weapons and equipment, promoting the export of lethal weapons, and blurring the boundary between military and civilian technologies.
Like previous editions, the year's paper continues to hype up "external threats," stoke bloc confrontation, and stress deeper defense cooperation with "like-minded nations."It once again targets China, claiming that China's military activities present "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge." It deliberately over interprets and hypes China's aircraft carrier operations in distant waters and PLA exercises around Taiwan, seeking to fabricate a pretext for Japan's intervention in the Taiwan Strait and fueling the resurgence of militarism in Japan.
SEEKING TO BECOME A "MILITARY STATE"
Analysts believe that the adjustments and changes in the new white paper fully expose the Takaichi administration's broader objective of establishing a long-term framework for military expansion and armament through the transformation of combat systems, the expansion of the defense industry, the relaxation of arms export controls, and external defense cooperation.
In terms of content, many of the expressions in the annual report closely resemble recommendations submitted by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in June for revising the three security documents. Those proposals played up alleged "security threats" from neighboring countries and called for expanded reserves and production capacity for ammunition, fuel and spare parts to ensure the Self-Defense Forces possess "sustained combat capabilities," points that align closely with the new content in the white paper.
On defense spending, although the LDP's recommendations stopped short of setting a specific target, they cited NATO members that have substantially increased the ratio of defense spending to gross domestic product as a reference point. Analysts say the white paper adopts a similar narrative, using international comparisons to justify continued increases in Japan's military budget.
The direction outlined in the white paper has generated growing concern within Japan. Critics argue that continued military expansion and the erosion of long-standing constraints will not contribute to regional peace and stability but heighten tensions across the region instead. In a recent editorial, the Asahi Shimbun questioned: "Under the banner of fundamentally strengthening defense capabilities, Japan is seeking to acquire counterstrike capabilities and lift restrictions on lethal weapons exports, thereby driving a fundamental shift in its postwar defense policy. What message does this send to neighboring countries?"
No matter how lighthearted a manga-style cover it adopts or how many lies it fabricates about "threats from neighboring countries," it cannot conceal the ambition of Japan's right-wing forces to return to the old path of military expansion. The Sanae Takaichi administration's headlong rush toward military expansion and arms buildup will not only further erode the foundations of Japan's postwar Pacifist Constitution, but also inevitably undermine Japan's own fundamental interests and regional peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. The new "Defense of Japan" white paper once again exposes the dangerous agenda of Japan's "new militarism," and the international community must see through the deception and maintain a high level of vigilance.
Editor's note: Originally published on news.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.