Militarism revival efforts criticized

A Chinese defense spokesman called on Thursday for firm international opposition to attempts by Japanese right-wing forces to "revive militarism", criticizing Japan for pushing forward remilitarization under various pretexts.

Zhang Xiaogang, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to recent comments and actions by Japan regarding the military and security domain.

According to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said that Japan would not rule out possessing nuclear-powered submarines. In addition, officials at the Prime Minister's Office said recently that Japan should have nuclear weapons.

Zhang said that in recent years, Japan has accelerated its military expansion, with increasingly evident signs of reviving militarism.

To conceal its true intentions, Japan has repeatedly hyped the so-called "China threat", he said, adding that Takaichi has made erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question while Japanese right-wing forces are now openly advocating nuclear armament, testing the bottom line of international justice.

"These moves represent a blatant challenge to the post-World War II international order and the nuclear nonproliferation regime, and pose a serious threat to regional and global peace and stability," he said.

"We call on all peace-loving countries and people to take action to firmly curb the revival of militarism by Japan's right-wing forces, and to prevent the world from being plunged into turmoil and a repeat of historical tragedies," Zhang said.

The spokesman also rebutted reports recently released by Japan's Ministry of Defense, which claimed that China's defense spending is growing rapidly and alleged increased Chinese military activity in areas near Japan, while also announcing plans to deploy mobile radar systems in Okinawa by 2026 to monitor Chinese naval movements.

Zhang stressed that China's defense spending is reasonable, moderate, and remains below the global average as a share of GDP, and that China's military activities in relevant waters are fully in line with international law and practice.

He urged Japan to stop spreading false narratives, cease provocative actions, and refrain from targeted military deployments.

"China will take resolute and lawful countermeasures against any provocation," Zhang said.