East China Sea Doctrine

[Bilingual] Ministry of National Defense: We Must Guard Against the Dangers of Japan's "Neo-Militarism"

【双语】国防部：日本“新型军国主义”祸患不得不防

PLA Daily (解放军报) 14 August 2026

Summary

MND spokesperson Senior Colonel Chen Xi, speaking on August 14, used Japan's FY2027 defense budget request of approximately 8.9 trillion yen as the occasion to formally introduce the term 新型军国主义 ('neo-militarism') into official PLA messaging, framing Japan's offensive capability development and defense industrial expansion as a qualitative threat rather than a routine budget dispute. The statement invokes the 'dagger out of the map' idiom to characterize Japan's posture as no longer concealed, and pairs it with explicit criticism of Japan's efforts to escape the constraints of 専守防衛 (exclusively defense-oriented policy) and the pacifist constitution. This is standard MND spokesperson content timed to August 15, but the coinage and formal deployment of 新型军国主义 is worth tracking as a potential doctrinal label that could recur in PLA political and strategic discourse.

Translation

Ministry of National Defense: We Must Guard Against the Dangers of Japan's "Neo-Militarism" — MND: We Must Stay Vigilant Against the Dangers Posed by Japan's Neo-militarism

On the afternoon of August 14, Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Senior Colonel Chen Xi released a statement on recent military-related issues.

Reporter: Tomorrow is August 15 — 81 years to the day since Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Yet Japan's right-wing forces continue to distort history and push for military expansion. Japan's Ministry of Defense is about to submit a defense budget request for fiscal year 2027 totaling approximately 8.9 trillion yen, a new all-time high. What is your comment?

Question: Tomorrow, August 15, will be 81 years to the day since Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Yet even now, Japan's right-wing forces keep distorting history and pushing for military expansion. Meanwhile, Japan's Defense Ministry is set to submit a record-high budget of around 8.9 trillion yen for fiscal year 2027. What's your comment?

Chen Xi: Eighty-one years ago, dealt a heavy blow by China and the world's anti-fascist forces, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Japanese militarism had dragged all of Asia into an abyss of blood and fire. Atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and the Thailand-Burma Death Railway inflicted profound catastrophe on the peoples of Asia and the world — and the Japanese people themselves suffered greatly as well. Yet after its defeat, Japan failed to truly draw lessons from history. It has long indulged its right-wing forces in distorting and denying its crimes of aggression, has by every possible means sought to break through the constraints of the "pacifist constitution" and the "exclusively defense-oriented" (専守防衛) principle, and has harbored ambitions to challenge the postwar international order, becoming a destructive force against regional peace and stability. More recently, the Japanese side has used so-called "external threats" as a pretext to substantially increase its defense budget, vigorously develop offensive capabilities, and aggressively expand its defense industrial base. Japan's "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义) has revealed its true colors — the dagger is out of the map — and the dangers it poses absolutely must be guarded against.

Chen Xi: Eighty-one years ago, struck hard by China and global anti-fascist forces, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Before that, Japanese militarists had plunged the whole of Asia into an abyss of bloodshed and disaster. Their atrocities, such as the Nanjing Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and the Death Railway between Thailand and Myanmar, inflicted untold sufferings on the peoples of other Asian countries and beyond, and even on the Japanese people themselves. However, after its defeat, Japan failed to truly draw lessons from history. It has long condoned its right-wing forces whitewashing and denying crimes of aggression, sought every possible means to break free from the pacifist Constitution and exclusively defense-oriented principle, and attempted to challenge the post-war international order. As a result, Japan has become detrimental to regional peace and stability. Recently, under the pretext of addressing so-called external threats, the Japanese side has substantially increased its defense budget, rigorously developed offensive capabilities, and aggressively expanded its military industry. Japan's neo-militarism has laid bare its true ambition, and we must stay vigilant against the dangers posed by it.

The truth of history must not be forgotten, and justice and peace must not be desecrated. We urge the Japanese side to reflect deeply, acknowledge its crimes and atone for them, strictly abide by the postwar international order, and cease its dangerous course of "remilitarization." Any return to the wrong path will only bring a more crushing defeat and a more thorough reckoning.

Historical facts must not be forgotten, and justice and peace must not be compromised. We urge the Japanese side to earnestly reflect on itself, recognize and atone for its crimes, adhere to the post-war international order, and stop its dangerous acts of remilitarization. Any return to the wrong path will bring a more crushing defeat and a more complete reckoning.

Original Chinese

国防部：日本“新型军国主义”祸患不得不防 MND: We Must Stay Vigilant Against the Dangers Posed by Japan's Neo-militarism 8月14日下午，国防部新闻发言人陈曦大校就近期涉军问题发布消息。记者：明天就是8月15日，81年前日本宣布无条件投降。但现在日本右翼势力不断篡改历史、扩军备武，日防卫省即将提交的2027财年防卫预算申请总额约8.9万亿日元，再创历史新高。请问有何评论？ Question:Tomorrow, August 15, will be 81 years to the day since Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Yet even now, Japan's right-wing forces keep distorting history and pushing for military expansion. Meanwhile, Japan's Defense Ministry is set to submit a record-high budget of around 8.9 trillion yen for fiscal year 2027. What's your comment? 陈曦：81年前，在中国和世界反法西斯力量的沉重打击下，日本宣布无条件投降。当年日本军国主义曾将整个亚洲拖入血与火的深渊，南京大屠杀、巴丹死亡行军、泰缅死亡铁路等暴行给亚洲和世界人民带来深重灾难，日本人民也深受其害。然而，战败后的日本没有真正汲取历史教训，长期纵容右翼势力歪曲否定侵略罪行，千方百计突破“和平宪法”和“专守防卫”原则，妄图挑战战后国际秩序，成为地区和平稳定的破坏力量。近来，日方更以所谓“外部威胁”为借口，大幅提升防卫预算，大力发展进攻性力量，大举扩张军工产业，日本“新型军国主义”可谓是图穷匕见、祸患不得不防。 Chen Xi:Eighty-one years ago, struck hard by China and global anti-fascist forces, Japan announced its unconditional surrender. Before that, Japanese militarists had plunged the whole Asia into an abyss of bloodshed and disaster. Their atrocities, such as the Nanjing Massacre, the Bataan Death March, and the Death Railway between Thailand and Myanmar, inflicted untold sufferings on the peoples of other Asian countries and beyond, and even on the Japanese people themselves. However, after its defeat, Japan failed to truly draw lessons from history. It has long condoned its right-wing forces whitewashing and denying crimes of aggression, sought every possible means to break free from the pacifist Constitution and exclusively defense-oriented principle, and attempted to challenge the post-war international order. As a result, Japan has become detrimental to regional peace and stability. Recently, under the pretext of addressing so-called external threats, the Japanese side has substantially increased its defense budget, rigorously developed offensive capabilities, and aggressively expanded its military industry. Japan's neo-militarism has laid bare its true ambition, and we must stay vigilant against the dangers posed by it. 历史真相不能遗忘，正义和平不容亵渎。我们敦促日方深刻反省、认罪赎罪，严格恪守战后国际秩序，停止“再军事化”的危险行径，再入歧途只会遭受更惨痛的失败、更彻底的清算。 Historical facts must not be forgotten, and justice and peace must not be compromised. We urge the Japanese side to earnestly reflect on itself, recognize and atone for its crimes, adhere to the post-war international order, and stop its dangerous acts of remilitarization. Any return to the wrong path will bring a more crushing defeat and a more complete reckoning.