By Chen Yang

When answering a question about Japanese Ministry of Defense's recent hype-up of the so-called “China threat” in its annual defense budget request, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at the regular press conference on September 1 that the hype-up “reveals Japan,s ambition to breach its commitment to the pacifist constitution and embark on its old path of military expansionism again. This sends a dangerous signal to the world that Japan is seeking to subvert the post-WWII international order. This calls for international vigilance .”

The Asahi Shimbun reported on September 1 that the Japanese Defense Ministry August 31 decided on the annual defense budget request for 2023. The 5.5947 trillion Japanese Yen request (about 39.87 billion US dollars ) aimed to achieve Fumio Kishida administration’s goal of thoroughly fortifying defense capacity created a historical new high, up 3.6% from last year.

It's worth noting this figure is not the final defense budget request. As the Defense Ministry has listed many items that don't have a specific number now, the final request may well exceed 6 trillion (about 42.76 billion US dollars) or approach 6.5 trillion (about 46.33 billion US dollars), the first time the budget request crosses the 6 trillion line.

The website of VOA reported that the Liberal Democratic Party asked to increase defense budget to no less than 2% of GDP in the next five years, meaning an annual increase of around 1 trillion Japanese Yen. 

Japan's incessant increase of defense budget will further hollow out the “defense only” policy. “Defense only” is a defense policy that Japan has abided by since the end of WWII, which means its defense forces are only allowed to stage defensive operations within its territory and territorial seas without launching attacks at bases on foreign soil or sending troops overseas or preparing aggressive weapons. Yet this policy has been constantly undermined in recent years, and has been gradually replaced by the thought of “preventive attack” and obtaining “counterattack capability”.

Yomiuri Shinbun reported earlier that the Kishida administration plans to deploy 1,000 cruise missiles with a range of over 1,000km on the southwestern islands, and to upgrade the weapons and equipment on a large scale, including spending a huge amount of money on introducing America's F-35 stealth fighter jet, and Global Hawk and Reaper UAVs, and the latest SPY-7 radar on Aegis weapon system and SM-6 remote air defense missiles. Japan has continuously increased its defense budget to sustain its military expansion, which means the long-standing “defense only” policy will become an empty shell.

Japan's incessant increase of defense budget will seriously threaten regional peace and stability. Japan has shown an obvious right-leaning tendency in recent years and has never truly reflected on its aggressive history. What's more, it has kept increasing the defense budget and strengthening military capacities with America's encouragement, connivance and support, in return for which it is an eager and willing flunky in deploying America's Asian-Pacific strategy. Japan has taken an active part in the various small cliques formed by the US in the region and followed the big brother in making trouble and throwing its weight about, becoming the destroyer of regional peace and stability.

Since the end of WWII, whether Japan's defense budget exceeds 2% of GDP is seen as a key indicator of its compliance with the pacifist constitution. The ever-rising defense budget, which seems set to surpass 2% of GDP in the next five years, means Japan is getting closer to breaking away from the restrictions of post-WWII world order and re-militarizing itself. Once it is in command of a powerful military and free from the restrictions of the pacifist constitution, Japan will doubtlessly become a major threat to the peace and stability of the Asia Pacific and the world at large.

Japan should learn lessons from history, stick to the path of peaceful development, and respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors. It should especially watch its words and deeds in the military and security fields in order to gain the trust of its neighbors and the international community.

Editor's note: This article is originally published on haiwainet.cn, and is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.