To indulge evil is to invite catastrophe: The danger of Japanese PM's 'double standards'

When US troops raided Caracas and seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, the international community quickly condemned the act. Japan, which presents itself as a "rule-abiding" model, remained silent. Its Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi merely stated that Japan would "advance diplomatic efforts toward the restoration of democracy and stabilization of the situation in Venezuela". What irony.

Japan's double standards are by no means accidental. History shows it is a habitual manipulator of international law. A country that proclaims itself a "defender of rules" is in fact a selective follower and frequent violator of international law. The "rules-based international order" that Japan preaches is nothing more than a fig leaf for its duplicity.

On territorial issues, Japan has openly challenged the territorial boundaries defined by the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, and attempted to steal China's inherent territory through the "nationalization" of Diaoyu Islands in 2012. By lifting the ban on the right of collective self-defense through a reinterpretation of its constitution and developing "counterattack capabilities against enemy bases", Japan has hollowed out its "Peace Constitution", completely broken the legal restrictions that prohibit a defeated country from possessing offensive weapons and turned its back on its own commitments.

More alarmingly, Japan is now moving faster to revive militarism, which, in essence, is an open denial of the victorious outcomes of the World Anti-Fascist War and a fundamental challenge to the post-war international order. This is the most serious, dangerous, and intolerable violation of international law in the world today.

The post-war international order — based on legal documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation — clearly defines Japan's status as a defeated country and its obligations to maintain peace. However, Japan's right-wing forces have long denied and glorified the country's history of aggression by visiting the Yasukuni war shrine, revising textbooks and other means, and exhausted all tactics to reverse the verdict on its past aggression.

Since taking office as prime minister, Sanae Takaichi has allied with the far-right Japan Innovation Party, written the goal of "amending the constitution within two years" into the ruling coalition's agreement, and planned to revise the core provisions of the "Peace Constitution".

Japan's defense budget has increased for 14 consecutive years. This is particularly dangerous, as Japan is a recognized nuclear threshold state. According to expert analysis, Japan's stockpile of nuclear materials is sufficient to produce hundreds of nuclear warheads. Recently, a senior official at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office openly called for possession of nuclear weapons, while politicians have clamored for revising the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles". Both Takaichi and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi have stated that they do not rule out the introduction of nuclear submarines, sharply elevating the risk of nuclear proliferation.

In a recent interview, Professor Yasumasa Matsushima of Ryukoku University suggested that the current expansion of right-wing elements in Japanese politics and the accelerated military buildup reflect Japan's modern-era expansionist logic disguised as "national survival", concealing the real danger of a militarist resurgence.

Spanish American philosopher George Santayana famously said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The resurgence of Japanese militarism in a new form warrants the highest vigilance of the international community. Just as appeasement toward Hitler over 80 years ago led to WWII, ignoring Japan's dangerous moves now would mean the repetition of history.

How Japan responded to the US military operation in Venezuela has fully exposed its hypocrisy and dangerous nature. The international community must unite to firmly safeguard the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law. Japan must confront its history and fulfill its obligations as a defeated country, and its historical revisionism must be rejected.

More importantly, the world keep alert to Japan's military expansion and prevent it from breaking free from its "Peace Constitution". Only in this way can the revival of militarism be curbed and world peace safeguarded.

After all, to indulge evil is to betray justice; to ignore danger is to invite catastrophe.

Gong Rong is an international affairs commentator.

The views don't necessarily represent those of China Daily.

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