Japan's Takaichi government faces growing criticism over military buildup, security policy shift

As Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi marks one year in office, criticism is growing over her push to expand the country's military capabilities, revise its pacifist constitution and consider introducing nuclear-powered submarines, with politicians, protesters and nuclear experts warning that the moves could heighten regional tensions and undermine Japan's postwar pacifist principles.

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba recently expressed concern over Takaichi's political course in a television program, criticizing her government and right-wing forces for a lack of honesty in addressing Japan's wartime history.

In the program aired by BS-TBS on Monday, Ishiba said that Japan launched wars that resulted in tens of millions of deaths, questioning whether a country that failed to fully acknowledge these historical facts could establish solid diplomatic relations.

Ishiba also questioned Takaichi's pledge to make Japan "strong and prosperous," noting that the country's gross domestic product could fall to sixth place globally next year. "Sanae-nomics," he said, has failed to bring prosperity to the country, adding that Takaichi's political course "will not make people happy."

On Monday evening, Japanese citizens gathered in front of the National Diet in Tokyo to protest against the government's military buildup and moves to revise the constitution, calling for the preservation of peace.

Taku Yamazoe, policy chief of the Japanese Communist Party, said the government's continued deployment of missiles and pursuit of increasingly advanced weapons had not brought peace, warning that Japanese politics is now showing signs of a dangerous, full-scale revival of militarism.

Mizuho Fukushima, leader of the Social Democratic Party, called for efforts to prevent the House of Representatives from beginning work on drafting proposed constitutional amendments. She also criticized attempts by the Takaichi government to pave the way for constitutional revision by reducing the number of seats allocated through proportional representation.

Pointing to the large-scale Japan-US joint military exercises that began Monday, Fukushima said they demonstrated the continued advance of Japan's militarization, stressing that what the country truly needed was peace.

Concerns have also mounted over the Takaichi government's consideration of introducing nuclear-powered submarines, as it prepares to revise Japan's three key security documents by the end of this year. Nuclear experts and peace advocates warn that the move could undermine Japan's longstanding exclusively defense-oriented policy and weaken the international nuclear nonproliferation regime.

At a seminar held in Tokyo on Monday, participants highlighted policy, financial and nuclear safety challenges associated with introducing such submarines, warning that the move could aggravate regional tensions and increase the risk of nuclear conflict.

Tatsujiro Suzuki, a visiting professor at Nagasaki University, said Japan's move could encourage other countries to follow suit, undermining international nuclear nonproliferation efforts, warning that such a trend could intensify regional tensions and ultimately increase the risk of nuclear war.

Sumiko Hatakeyama, co-representative of the Japanese nongovernmental organization Peace Boat, said Japan must not abandon its postwar principles of exclusively defense-oriented policy and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, stressing that the government should not introduce nuclear-powered submarines.

Hajime Matsukubo, secretary-general of the Citizens' Nuclear Information Center and a member of the Nuclear Energy Subcommittee under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said that nuclear-powered submarines could enable Japan to operate for extended periods across wider maritime areas, significantly affecting the regional security environment.

Matsukubo also noted that previous Japanese governments had explicitly stated that using nuclear energy to power military submarines did not qualify as the peaceful use of nuclear energy when nuclear-powered vessels had yet to become widespread.

The Takaichi cabinet's discussions on introducing nuclear-powered submarines therefore represented a clear contradiction with the government's previous position, he said, calling it a serious issue.