By Le Shui
Japan's cabinet recently adopted its defense white paper, the Defense of Japan 2024, which clamors for the "China threat" and claims that Japan is facing "the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II".
The defense white paper is an annual report on Japan's defense policy and surrounding security situation released by Japan's Ministry of Defense. Since 2020, it has been spreading false information about China's military development and issues concerning the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the Diaoyu Dao, sparing no effort in hyping the "China threat" in order to pave the way for breaking away from the restrictions imposed by the post-WWII order and go back to the militarist path. The Kishida administration also hopes to take this opportunity to buoy its bottom-hitting support rating.
Japan had stuck to the "exclusively defense-oriented" principle in its defense policy ever since the end of WWII, and kept the maximum range of its missiles within 200km. However, it has deviated from this principle in recent years and begun to develop the so-called "stand-off defense capability". It is reported that Japan has announced several new-generation offensive weapons lately, including the ground-to-ship missile with a range of 1,000 km and the hypersonic missile with a range of 500 km, so as to be able to launch long-range attacks at China. At the end of 2022, Japan proposed to increase its total defense expenditure to 43 trillion Japanese Yen within the next five years, which is now 42% completed according to the new defense white paper, registering the highest defense budget since WWII.
The new white paper "warned" about the possibility of a serious situation in East Asia that resembles the Ukraine crisis and said China's increasing military activities may escalate tension across the Taiwan Strait. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, and the one-China principle is the political foundation for the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Japan, which is clearly stated in the China-Japan Joint Statement in 1972. Casting its commitment to the wind, Japan is trying to interfere in China's internal affairs by arousing public opinions and even taking military actions. Its repeated hype of the Taiwan question is essentially aimed at containing China's development by using the Taiwan region as a pawn.
Additionally, the new white paper is exaggerating surrounding security threats, pointing fingers at China-Russia joint operations, and claiming sovereignty over the Dokdo islets (called Takeshima by Japan), the disputed region between Japan and the ROK, against which Seoul has lodged stern representations. In June this year, Japan, in violation of the provisions of the United Nations Commission on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), unilaterally announced its decision to expand the continental shelf of the Ogasawara Plateau, which is located on the east side of the Father Island in the Ogasawara Islands, by 120,000 square kilometers. In July, it signed the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) with the Philippines that made their partnership all but an alliance and allowed them to station troops on each other's territory. The series of moves have broken the boundary set by the pacificist Constitution and become more clearly aggressive.
In fact, the Kishida administration's deliberate exaggeration of the so-called "surrounding threats" is just an excuse for its military expansion and war-ready efforts. Especially given the nose-diving support rating, making external provocations to divert domestic attention has become the last resort that Kishida can take. A poll on July 11 showed that the support rating for the Kishida cabinet has fallen to 15.5%, lower than the 20% threshold for "stepping down" and a new low for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) that has been at the helm since 2012. About 40% of Japanese people believe that Kishida should be voted out in the next Lower House election. With LDP's presidential election just two months away, Kishida, to stay on his position, has to put up a tough image by appearing provocative in order to save his pathetic rating.
Japan, at one time, brought unbearable suffering to Asian countries because of its militarist actions. It has also once worked economic wonders by opting for the path of peace and development. Right now, the Japanese government should bear firmly in mind its historical lessons and contribute to peace and stability in the Asian Pacific region rather than trumpet the "China threat" all day long and instigate regional confrontation. We advise the Japanese side to learn from history, stop going down the wrong road of military expansion before it's too late, and avoid repeating its tragic mistake of falling into the militarist path.
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.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.
