Why the world must jointly curb Japan's remilitarization

Editor's note: Wang Yichen, a special commentator for CGTN, is an associate research fellow at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

August 15 is not merely the day when Japan announced its surrender in 1945. It is an important landmark in the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and a solemn reminder of the enormous sacrifices made by people across Asia and the world to defeat Japanese fascism and militarism.

The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender constitute the foundational documents of the post-war order in East Asia. They established the principles for reversing Japan's territorial expansion, eliminating militarist influence and disarming Japanese forces. Through the Instrument of Surrender, Japan formally accepted the Potsdam terms and pledged to carry them out faithfully.

Their relevance did not end in 1945. These documents established the framework within which Japan returned to the international community as a peaceful country. They also embody a fundamental post-war consensus: Japanese militarism must never again be allowed to threaten neighboring countries or bring disaster to the Japanese people.

That consensus is now being steadily eroded. Japan's defense-related spending has risen rapidly, surpassing 2% of GDP. The country is acquiring long-range missiles and developing what it calls "counterstrike capabilities," enabling it to strike targets in another country's territory.

In April 2026, the Japanese government further relaxed restrictions on overseas arms transfers, permitting in principle the export of all categories of defense equipment, including finished products. These changes are transforming Japan from a country constrained by post-war pacifist commitments into an increasingly active military and arms-exporting power.

Behind these measures lies a broader political project: to normalize military power as a central instrument of state policy and gradually hollow out Japan's exclusively defense-oriented posture. External threats are repeatedly exaggerated to generate public support, while efforts to revise the Constitution, loosen restrictions on collective self-defense and expand the military-industrial sector provide the necessary legal, political and material foundations.

What Japan presents as adaptation to a changing security environment is increasingly becoming a systematic departure from the path of peaceful development it pledged to follow after World War II (WWII).

Japan, like any other country, has the right to legitimate self-defense. But when rising military expenditure, long-range strike weapons, an expanding defense industry and broader arms exports advance simultaneously, they cannot credibly be treated as unrelated policy adjustments. Together, they are dismantling the restraints that distinguished post-war Japan from its militarist past.

The Taiwan question makes this historical dimension particularly important. The Cairo Declaration explicitly called for the restoration to China of territories stolen by Japan, including Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. The Potsdam Proclamation stipulated that the terms of the Cairo Declaration must be carried out, and Japan accepted those terms in its Instrument of Surrender.

Japan's repeated interference in the Taiwan question and its attempts to exploit tensions across the Taiwan Strait to justify military expansion are therefore not detached from history. They touch directly upon the territorial settlement and political principles established after WWII. Any attempt by Japan to contemplate military intervention in the Taiwan Strait would raise grave questions about whether it is seeking to challenge the very order under which it was rehabilitated as a peaceful country.

Historical revisionism makes this trend even more alarming. Remembering the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki while obscuring Japan's aggression against Asian countries presents an incomplete and distorted version of history. The devastation Japan suffered cannot be separated from the war of aggression launched by Japanese militarism.

That aggression inflicted immeasurable suffering on people in China, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia, while also bringing catastrophe to the Japanese people. August 15 must therefore be remembered not only as the end of a war but also as a warning against the political forces and militarist ideology that made the war possible.

Historical memory is not about remaining trapped in the past. It is a safeguard for anchoring the future. Militarism does not emerge overnight. It develops through the exaggeration of external threats, the normalization of military power, military-industrial expansion and the gradual removal of legal and political restraints. Forgetting this process creates the conditions for history to repeat itself.

The international community must therefore remain vigilant and act together to curb Japan's remilitarization. This means opposing attempts to whitewash aggression, defending the authority of the post-war settlement, scrutinizing Japan's expanding military capabilities and arms exports, and urging the Japanese government to honor its exclusively defense-oriented commitments.

Such vigilance is not hostility toward Japan or the Japanese people. Preventing the revival of militarism protects both the countries that once suffered from Japanese aggression and Japan itself. Genuine reconciliation cannot be built on selective memory, nor can lasting security be achieved by dismantling the restraints that have helped preserve regional peace.

As August 15 is commemorated, Japan faces a choice: to use the anniversary for genuine reflection and a renewed commitment to peace, or to continue invoking external threats to justify military expansion. The latter course will only weaken the foundations of Asia-Pacific peace and challenge the post-war order that the peoples of the world paid an immeasurable price to establish.

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