By Xu Juanjuan and Du Bin

Over recent years, Japan has ramped up the militarization of its foreign policy. From Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the US to Defense Minister Minoru Kihara's meeting with counterparts from the US, Australia, and the Philippines, a string of related actions by Japan has not only laid bare its pursuit of the so-called "national normalization", but also dealt a heavy blow to regional security and stability. In its military relations with Western countries led by the US, Japan has consistently strengthened its military engagements with relevant partners. During Prime Minister Kishida's visit to the US, Japan and the US undertook the "biggest upgrade" of the Japan-US Security Treaty in more than 60 years, restructuring the US military command in Japan, and elevating the US-Japan alliance to new heights.

Japan has also signed reciprocal access agreements with nations like the UK and Australia, seeking to establish more bases for the overseas deployments of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) and streamline entry protocols for personnel and equipment. Moreover, Japan regularly participates in NATO meetings at various levels, enhancing its institutional cooperation with NATO, and openly welcoming the setting up of a NATO office in Tokyo. Japan has intensified its engagements with US-led "mini-lateral" mechanisms such as AUKUS and the Five Eyes Alliance. All these moves further challenge the constraints of Japan's pacifist Constitution and exclusively defense-oriented policy, solidifying Japan's military binding with US-led Western countries.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan is intensifying efforts to enhance military cooperation. Following last year's Camp David Trilateral Summit between the US, Japan, and the ROK, the JSDF conducted joint air exercises with US and ROK air forces, against an imaginary crisis on the Korean Peninsula. By the end of 2023, the three countries initiated a real-time data-sharing system for DPRK missile warnings. In early April this year, another trilateral aerial exercise occurred near the Korean Peninsula. Within the US-led US-Japan-Philippines Triad, Japan is in negotiations with the Philippines for a reciprocal access agreement, pledging support for the modernization of the Philippine defense.

These moves suggest that Japan is, eyeing Northeast Asia as a breakthrough point, shaping a military diplomacy model centered on the US and its allies, extending influence into the Asia-Pacific region and aligning more closely with NATO, which poses severe challenges to regional peace and stability.

In its economic diplomacy efforts, Japan is seeking to integrate more military components by leveraging its long standing advantages. In recent years, Japan has labeled sectors like technology patents and digital economy as economic security domains. It has introduced cooperation frameworks like the Official Security Assistance (OSA) to provide defense equipment such as surveillance radar to so-called like-minded nations. Furthermore, it has signed the Agreement concerning the Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology with countries like the US, UK, and Australia, facilitating weapon exports and military technology transfers. Japan is also expanding the scope and scale of its arms exports, aiming to emulate the US in "boosting economy through arms export". As a result, the military dimensions of its economic diplomacy have been increasingly intensified.

Japan's accelerated militarization of its foreign policy has indeed generated numerous negative impacts on Northeast Asia and the entire Asia-Pacific region. On one hand, these actions have the potential to worsen existing disputes in the region, escalating geopolitical tensions and even potentially leading to direct confrontations. On the other hand, Japan's exports of weapons to relevant countries are likely to raise concerns and prompt countermeasures from other nations, thereby further endangering regional security and stability. These precarious dynamics underscore the need for heightened vigilance from all parties involved.

(The author is from the PLA Academy of Military Sciences.)