The Ministry of Defense refutes Japan's new white paper: it's nothing but a thief crying "stop the thief," using it as an excuse to loosen its own military restrictions.

[Global Times reporters Li Meng, Feng Fan, special correspondent in Japan Chu Xin, Yang Chen] On the 4th, Japan's Defense Minister Kono Shin'ichiro reported on the 2026 edition of the "Defense White Paper" at a cabinet meeting. This white paper emphasizes Japan's "surrounding security threats," aiming to pave the way for the Suga administration to revise the "three security documents" by the end of this year and to create excuses for Japan's military expansion. The white paper also falsely claims that China's military movements represent "the largest strategic challenge ever," making unfounded criticisms of China's conventional military activities and legitimate national defense construction, deliberately sensationalizing and distorting the necessary actions of the Chinese military to maintain national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Experts interviewed by the Global Times on the 4th stated that Japan's actions to create regional tensions in exchange for strategic space and geopolitical interests pose a serious threat to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. The new Japanese "Defense White Paper" regarding "new types of combat methods" and further seeking "capabilities to attack enemy bases" warrants high vigilance from both domestic and international communities. Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson Chen Xi stated on the 4th that this white paper is filled with false narratives, exaggerating the "surrounding security crisis" and hyping the so-called "China threat," which is entirely a case of the thief crying "stop thief," seeking excuses for its own military loosening, "we express strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to this."

"A very dangerous signal"

The Japan Economic News reported on the 4th that the "Defense White Paper" is published annually by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, aiming to articulate the government's views on national defense policy and the global military situation. Before revising the "three security documents" (namely the "National Security Strategy," "National Defense Strategy," and "Defense Force Development Plan") at the end of this year, the 2026 "Defense White Paper" issued a "warning" about the "severe" security environment surrounding Japan. The Yomiuri Shimbun stated that this year's white paper is 598 pages long.

According to reports from the Japan Economic News and Kyodo News on the 4th, the white paper claims that China's external posture and military movements are "the largest strategic challenge ever," stating that China is increasing its defense spending and accelerating the enhancement of its nuclear weapons, missiles, naval vessels, and air combat capabilities. The document also lists activities of Chinese aircraft carriers in the Pacific. The white paper asserts that Chinese military activities around Taiwan are becoming more frequent, and that the security strategic environment surrounding Japan is currently the most severe and complex since the end of World War II. Additionally, the white paper details the joint flights of Chinese and Russian bombers and the joint navigation of naval vessels, expressing "serious concerns" about the strengthening of cooperation between these two countries.

Chinese military expert Zhang Junsha stated on the 4th to Global Times reporters that the content related to China in this year's Japanese "Defense White Paper" continues the previous tone of exaggerating regional tensions and promoting the "China threat theory." Its essence is to lay the groundwork for Japan to break through international legal documents such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, as well as the restrictions of Japan's pacifist constitution, and to further expand military preparations. This white paper attempts to cover up its real ambition for re-militarization by exaggerating the false "China threat," and unjustly accuses China's normal defense construction, maritime and aerial patrols, and distant sea training.

Compared to previous years, this year's Japanese "Defense White Paper" has a separate section on "new types of combat methods," increasing the length of the section on "strengthening defense production and technological foundations," emphasizing the increasingly significant role of drones and artificial intelligence in the military field, while also pointing out that the technological capabilities of the Japanese government and private sector should be actively applied in the security field. The Japan Daily News believes that this white paper is focused on the revision of the "three security documents," thus providing a detailed explanation of "new types of combat methods."

This white paper also introduces the direction of the Suga administration's military expansion policy. In March of this year, Japan officially deployed the Type 25 land-based anti-ship missile in Kumamoto Prefecture, with a range of about 1,000 kilometers, far exceeding Japan's territorial range, and possessing clear offensive attributes. This is also Japan's first deployment of long-range missiles with "capabilities to attack enemy bases." The white paper states that Japan will further seek "capabilities to attack enemy bases," including the development of air-launched and sea-launched versions of the Type 25 anti-ship missile, advancing the research and development of hypersonic missiles, and introducing foreign-made "stand-off missiles."

Zhang Junsha believes that the aforementioned content of the Japanese "Defense White Paper" warrants high vigilance from both domestic and international communities, indicating that Japan is developing towards the goal of becoming a "war-capable nation," and signifies that "new militarism" has become a serious threat, severely endangering regional peace and stability. The white paper states that Japan will further seek "capabilities to attack enemy bases," which essentially means that the country aims to develop military strike capabilities, completely exceeding the scope of passive defense or "exclusive defense," raising deep concerns.

Lv Chao, director of the Institute of American and Northeast Asian Studies at Liaoning University, stated on the 4th to Global Times reporters that the expressions in the Japanese "Defense White Paper" exaggerating the "China threat theory" are becoming clearer, seeking excuses for its military expansion, which is likely to create a tense atmosphere in Northeast Asia and even the entire Asia-Pacific region. Japan is fully breaking through the principle of "exclusive defense," rationalizing its military expansion by promoting the narrative of "being threatened," which is a very dangerous signal for neighboring countries.

"A very cunning propaganda tactic"

What has drawn public attention is that this year's Japanese "Defense White Paper" cover features anime-style characters and urban landscapes, with Reuters quoting a Japanese Ministry of Defense official as saying that this is intended to convey a "sense of the future."

Military issues expert Song Zhongping, in an interview with Global Times reporters, said that the Japanese government hopes to "package" the "Defense White Paper" in a seemingly harmless way that is more acceptable to Japanese society, especially young people, to exert corresponding influence on the Japanese public. However, behind this lies Japan's militaristic ambitions. The Japanese authorities' use of anime to entice and mislead young people is malicious. Lv Chao believes that this is a "very cunning propaganda tactic," which is more provocative than directly displaying weapons, aiming to promote the ideology of "new militarism" in society and disguise its true intentions of militarization.

Chinese Ministry of Defense spokesperson Chen Xi stated on the 4th that the Japanese ruling authorities continue to use the guise of "exclusive defense" to accelerate the revision of the "three security documents," continuously increase defense spending, vigorously develop long-range offensive capabilities, promote the weaponization and militarization of space, and even package the expansion of the military-industrial sector as an economic growth point, attempting to deeply embed military expansion into the national system, economic industry, and social discourse. Japan's "new militarism" has become a serious challenge to the post-war international order and a real threat to regional peace and stability. The Taiwan issue concerns China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as the political foundation of China-Japan relations, and is a red line that cannot be crossed.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 4th, Japan once again asserted its sovereignty over Dokdo (referred to as "Takeshima" in Japan) in this year's "Defense White Paper," to which the South Korean government expressed strong protest and urged Japan to immediately withdraw its related claims.

Dangerous trends provoke backlash in Japan

Recently, the Japanese government's defense policy and tendencies towards "new militarism" have sparked considerable discussion and questioning within Japan. The Daily News stated that the tendency to prioritize "increased defense spending" in the discussions on revising the "three security documents" is deeply concerning. The efficiency and rationality of the current defense spending should be verified first, and it cannot be simply justified by GDP percentage targets or external pressures for continuous significant increases; military expansion detached from national conditions will ultimately squeeze investments in people's livelihoods and harm the stability of citizens' lives. The Tokyo News believes that discussions on security policy must adhere to the concept of peace, and excessive leaning towards military strength enhancement will instead exacerbate regional tensions. Japan should insist on building a foundation of national trust through pacifism and use diplomatic strategies to ease conflicts with other countries.

Japanese Senator Ibo Yoichi stated that the Suga administration is trying to implement policies that harm people's livelihoods, such as cutting medical expenses, while "rushing forward" with the expansion of defense spending, continuously escalating tensions with neighboring countries.

Criticism from academia and peace advocates in Japan regarding the current defense trajectory is even sharper, directly pointing out the policy's inversion of priorities and the risk of unconstitutionality. Constitutional scholar and professor at Nippon Sport Science University, Shimizu Masahiko, recently stated that under the clear premise of Article 9 of the pacifist constitution, Japan's continuous military expansion is leading down a dangerous path of reviving militarism. He believes it is entirely understandable for countries that have suffered from Japanese aggression to criticize Japan with "new militarism," and Japan must return to its constitutional stance and uphold its identity as a peace-loving nation.

The Suga administration's attempts to loosen Japan's nuclear policy bottom line have also raised strong concerns domestically and internationally. Kono Shin'ichiro called for discussions on nuclear weapons in late July, claiming that Japan must "explore various policy options with a sense of crisis and should not consider any options as taboo."

A recent editorial in the Asahi Shimbun stated that Japan, under the guise of fundamentally strengthening its defense capabilities, is pushing to transform the restrained defense policy it has adhered to since the post-war period, seeking to possess capabilities to attack enemy bases and relax restrictions on the export of lethal weapons. "If Japan is to reconsider the 'three non-nuclear principles,' what kind of signal will this send to neighboring countries?" the article stated, as the situation of power confrontation continues to escalate, it may instead harm regional peace and stability. Japan's post-war non-nuclear policy and the trust it has gained from the international community must not be undermined.

Special correspondents of the Global Times in Japan recently interviewed at several peace rallies, where many Japanese citizens told reporters that they have never felt the so-called "threat" from neighboring countries, but have a real sense of crisis brought about by Japan's deployment of long-range missiles and the relaxation of lethal weapon exports. The reporters observed that as the Japanese government insists on paving the way for military expansion by exaggerating "external threats," an increasing number of people in Japan are realizing that the real threat to Japan's peace and livelihood has never been the external "imaginary enemy," but rather the erroneous defense route that strays from the path of the pacifist constitution and disregards the welfare of the people.