Japan's military shift: A cautionary tale from history

Editor's note: Mei Xin is an observer of international affairs. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

"Japan has historically learned a great deal from China and absorbed much of its culture. That deep connection is the foundation of today's Japan," Japanese former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said in late January, warning Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on the Taiwan region had led to deterioration in Sino-Japanese relations and risked drawing Japan into war.

Hatoyama's warning is indicative of a dangerously heightened militarist tendency in Japan – a concern widely shared particularly among Asian nations.

To forget is to betray history

When Sanae Takaichi first took office as Prime Minister, she declared that a potential use of force by the Chinese mainland against Taiwan could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, implying that Japan could exercise the right of "collective self-defense." Such rhetoric constitutes an interference in China's internal affairs and a direct infringement upon China's sovereignty. 

Let there be no misunderstanding: When the People's Republic of China decided to normalize relations with Japan in 1972, it did so with the well-being of both peoples in mind. That decision was an act of statesmanship – not a pardon, and certainly not an invitation to forget.

History does not fade just because you choose to look away.

Late last year, China's Central Archives declassified a new batch of documents, revealing chilling details of Japan's wartime atrocities: the horrors of systematic biological warfare of Unit 731 and the slaughter of the Nanjing Massacre. These acts stand among the darkest chapters in human history.

Historically, Japanese militarists had repeatedly used the "survival-threatening situation" as a pretext for external aggression – including the brazen staging of the September 18 Incident which ignited the war of aggression against China that subsequently engulfed Asia and brought untold suffering to millions of people.

For any nation that fell victim to that aggression, forgetting this part of history is self-betrayal.

To be forewarned is to be protected

The international community has long rendered a clear judgment on Japanese militarism. Foundational legal documents of the postwar order, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, established core principles opposing aggression, punishing war crimes, and eradicating militarism. After the war, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East investigated the Nanjing Massacre and issued definitive legal conclusions. This is a settled matter of international law and historical fact, not a narrative open to reinterpretation.

Yet an unsettling reality persists: For decades, Japan's right-wing forces have sought to dilute, deny, or overturn these established conclusions.

Since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi came into power, Japan has notably accelerated its military buildup. From her remarks on Taiwan to a senior official in the Japanese Prime Minister's Office calling for Japan to possess nuclear weapons; from proposed revisions to the three national security documents to suggestions of altering the three non-nuclear principles – Japan is deviating ever further from the path of peaceful development.

In recent years, Japan has been edging toward militarist resurgence – slowly but persistently. It has lifted the ban on exercising the right of collective self-defense, developed the "capability to strike enemy bases," strengthened cooperation with the United States on extended deterrence, and turned frontier islands into military frontlines. These steps clearly go far beyond Japan's professed "exclusively defense-oriented" policy. Terms such as "self-defense" and "counterstrike" are being used by right-wing forces to gloss over their attempts to breach the postwar international order and Japan's Pacifist Constitution.

The specter of militarism is looming large. The alarm bells are ringing. If what is unfolding in Japan is allowed to continue unchecked, the catastrophes of the past could repeat themselves.

The international community must learn history's hard lessons and remain somber and vigilant against the potential resurrection of Japanese militarism. This is an issue that affects everyone's vital interests.

The year 2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War – a moment that belongs not to any single nation, but to humanity as a whole. Both history and reality show that a return to militarism only leads a country astray into a dead end. Peace and development are the only viable way forward.

China today is advancing toward modernization with an unwavering commitment to peaceful development. It has neither the intention nor the need to export conflict. What it insists upon is this: The hard-won outcomes of World War II, and the international order built upon them, must not be hollowed out by political expediency. This is not only a matter of historical justice, but a prerequisite for durable peace, shared security, and the credibility of the international system itself.

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