Japan Defense Minister Refutes Chinese Militarism Claim

Japan’s defense minister has rejected accusations from China that Tokyo’s recent military enhancements constitute a “new militarism,” while emphasizing that Japan remains open to dialogue. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore on Sunday, Defense Minister Shinjirō Koizumi framed Japan’s actions as a transparent and necessary response to regional security concerns.

Koizumi argued that Japan’s defense policy is not aimed at any specific country or at seeking military confrontation. He instead pointed to what he described as a lack of transparency and concerning military expansion by China. Koizumi stated that China continues to increase its defense spending at a high level and is rapidly expanding its military capabilities across a wide range of areas, activities he called a serious concern for Japan and the international community.

The minister’s comments were a direct rebuttal to criticism from Chinese officials at the forum, who had invoked Imperial Japan’s wartime history. Without naming China, Koizumi highlighted a perceived asymmetry, noting that one country possesses a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers, while Japan has neither....