East China Sea Military Diplomacy

Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Japanese Official's Remarks Are Completely Groundless and Utterly Feeble

外交部：日本官员有关说辞毫无根据、苍白无力

PLA Daily (解放军报) 1 June 2026

Summary

At the June 1 regular press conference, MFA spokesperson Lin Jian responded to Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani's Shangri-La Dialogue remarks by invoking the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and Japan's own constitution to argue that Tokyo's defense buildup — a 9-trillion-yen budget, GDP share rising toward 3.5 percent, tripled procurement orders, and deployment of medium- and long-range offensive missiles — constitutes 新型军国主义 ('neo-militarism') in violation of postwar legal constraints. The framing, anchored to the 80th anniversary of the Tokyo Trials, extends a pattern in which Beijing uses juridical and historical language to delegitimize Japanese rearmament rather than engage its strategic rationale; the explicit call for the international community to 'jointly guard against and resolutely check' neo-militarism before it 'takes hold' is directed at regional audiences, not Tokyo.

Translation

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, June 1 (Reporters Sun Nan and Dong Xue) — Regarding recent remarks by Japan's Minister of Defense in which he attempted to justify Japan's march toward "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义), Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lin Jian stated on the 1st that the Japanese official's remarks are completely groundless and utterly feeble in the face of a series of historical, legal, factual, and statistical realities. The international community must remain highly vigilant, jointly guard against, and resolutely check "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义) before it takes hold and becomes a menace.

At that day's regular press conference, a reporter asked: On May 31, Japan's Minister of Defense obliquely responded to China at the Shangri-La Dialogue, saying Japan would continue to strengthen its military capabilities. Although he did not directly mention China, he said there is a country with a massive nuclear arsenal and strategic bombers — neither of which Japan possesses — yet Japan has been labeled "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义). What is China's response?

"The remarks by the Japanese official you mentioned are completely groundless and utterly feeble in the face of a series of historical, legal, factual, and statistical realities, and they are simply incapable of winning the trust of Asian neighbors and the international community," Lin Jian said.

Lin Jian stated that Japanese militarism committed monstrous crimes during World War II, inflicting profound catastrophe upon Asian neighbors and Allied forces. To prevent the resurgence of militarism, documents carrying the force of international law — including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation — explicitly stipulate that "Japan shall be completely disarmed and shall not be permitted to maintain industries that would enable it to rearm." Japan's constitution also imposes strict limitations on military forces, the right of belligerency, and the right of war, and establishes principles such as "exclusively defensive defense" (専守防衛) along with a series of domestic legal regulations.

"Yet what we see is this: Japan's latest defense budget has broken through 9 trillion yen, setting a new postwar record for the 14th consecutive year; per capita defense spending has reached three times that of China; the share of defense spending in GDP has surged to 2 percent, with plans to raise it further to 3.5 percent; and the value of defense procurement orders placed by Japan's Ministry of Defense has tripled over the past five years. Since the current Japanese government took office, it has accelerated the deployment of medium- and long-range offensive missiles, lifted restrictions on the export of lethal weapons, and pushed to revise the constitution and the 'three security documents' (安保三文件), in an attempt to further break through the constraints of international and domestic law and challenge the postwar international order," Lin Jian said.

Lin Jian stated that the Japanese official in question deliberately evaded historical culpability, selectively ignored the above facts, and instead attempted to turn the tables and confuse the issue. "Is this a guilty conscience, or an attempt to conceal one's own ambitions for military expansion? Under these circumstances, Japan's so-called 'dialogue' is also hypocritical — nothing but posturing and performance, devoid of any sincerity."

Lin Jian said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials. That great trial of justice adjudicated the manifold crimes of Japanese militarism and laid the legal foundation for the postwar international order. International experts and scholars have already pointed out that Japan's recent series of erroneous words and actions are cut from the same cloth as the process by which militarism prepared and launched war — as exposed by the Tokyo Trials — and constitute a threat to regional peace and stability. The international community must remain highly vigilant, jointly guard against, and resolutely check "neo-militarism" (新型军国主义) before it takes hold and becomes a menace.

Original Chinese

新华社北京6月1日电（记者孙楠、董雪）就日本防卫大臣日前试图为日本走向“新型军国主义”进行辩解等相关言论，外交部发言人林剑1日表示，日本官员有关说辞毫无根据，在一系列历史、法理、事实和数字面前苍白无力。国际社会必须高度警惕、共同防范和坚决遏止“新型军国主义”成势为患。当日例行记者会上，有记者问：5月31日，日本防卫大臣在香格里拉对话会上隐晦地回应了中国，称日本将继续强化军力。尽管他并未直接提及中国，但他称有一个国家拥有庞大的核武器库和战略轰炸机，日本两者都没有，却被贴上“新型军国主义”标签。中方对此有何回应？ “你提到的日本官员有关说辞毫无根据，在一系列历史、法理、事实和数字面前苍白无力，根本无法取信亚洲邻国和国际社会。”林剑说。林剑表示，日本军国主义曾在二战期间犯下滔天罪行，给亚洲邻国和盟军造成深重灾难。为防止军国主义死灰复燃，《开罗宣言》《波茨坦公告》等具有国际法效力的文件明确规定，“日本应完全解除武装，不得维持能使其重新武装的产业”。日本宪法对军力、交战权、战争权也作出严格限制，并确立了“专守防卫”等原则和一系列国内法规制。 “然而我们看到的是，日本最新防卫预算已突破9万亿日元，连续14年刷新战后历史最高记录，人均防卫费达到中国的3倍，防卫费占GDP比重已飙升至2%，甚至还要进一步提升至3.5%。日本防卫省过去5年的军工订单额增至3倍。日本现政府执政以来，加快部署中远程进攻性导弹，放开杀伤性武器出口，推动修改宪法和‘安保三文件’，企图进一步突破国际法、国内法规制，挑战战后国际秩序。”林剑说。林剑表示，日方这位官员刻意回避历史罪责，选择性忽视上述事实，反而企图倒打一耙、混淆视听。“这究竟是心虚，还是企图掩盖自身的军事扩张野心？在这种情况下，日方所谓‘对话’也是虚伪的，只是摆姿态、装样子，没有任何诚意。” 林剑说，今年是东京审判开庭80周年。这场正义大审判判定了日本军国主义累累罪行，为战后国际秩序打下法律基础。已经有国际专家学者指出，日方近期一系列错误言行与东京审判揭露的军国主义筹备发动战争的过程如出一辙，威胁地区和平稳定。国际社会必须高度警惕、共同防范和坚决遏止“新型军国主义”成势为患。