Japan's defense white paper calling white black: China Daily editorial

By stating China is a threat in clear, unambiguous words in its Defense of Japan 2023 document, the Japanese government has set a typical example to the whole world of how a thief cries "catch thief".

In the 32 pages of its digest version, "China" is mentioned 64 times to portray it as "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge" to Japan. Among the charges that are leveled at China in the paper to support this claim are the country is enhancing its military capabilities, making "unilateral changes" to the "status quo" in the East China Sea and the South China Sea through displays of force and intensifying its military activities in the Taiwan Strait.

However, it is Japan that seeks to take these false charges as a pretext to amend its so-called pacifist Constitution to enhance its military capabilities.

As the defense paper itself states, Japan is planning to spend 43.5 trillion yen ($322.2 billion) on defense in the coming five years, a significant increase from 17.2 trillion yen in the 2019-2023 period. Further, its military spending has already been increasing for more than a decade in a row when the country does not face any imminent security threats.

Despite Tokyo claiming the nation is dedicated to self-defense, its defense spending is already the third-largest in the world, and its average per capita defense spending is much higher than that of China.

Japan has never discarded the ambition of seeking a re-rise to be not only a regional but also global military power. And its de facto military forces can only be described as world-class.

As for its shows of force in the South China Sea, Japan is acting like someone who backs up an intruder who has entered someone's backyard waving a gun, as vessels of the Japanese Self-Defense Force have sailed there many times in moves aimed at emulating the US' repeated "freedom of navigation" provocations.

And it is simply absurd for Japan, which officially recognizes the one-China principle that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, to support the secessionists on the island.

A simple review of history shows that Japan always seeks alliance with the most powerful military force of the world, with the UK in 1902, Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940, and the US in the postwar world. And it abused every alliance to invade or threaten its neighbors. And it is now colluding with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to establish a regional "liaison office" in Tokyo.

It called China "a threat" before invading China's northeastern provinces in 1931 and launching a full attack in 1937. Now, with the encouragement of the US, Japan is openly threatening China once again.

But 2023 is not 1931 or 1937. China loves peace, and it has the capability to defend peace. Under whatever excuse or with whichever ally Japan dares to challenge China, it will only repeat the failure of 1945.

Tokyo should not be beguiled by the tune Washington is piping as it is only leading it astray.