Anti-war and anti-nuke protesters march through a shopping arcade denouncing Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration, her constitutional revision and military expansion policies, in Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug 6. [Photo/Agencies]
Japan has repeatedly played up so-called "security threats in its neighborhood" and stoked the "China threat" narrative recently, reflecting a political tactic by right-wing forces to exaggerate security concerns, shape domestic public opinion and seek justification for military buildup and strategic expansion, experts said.
The 2026 edition of Japan's defense white paper, released by the government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, distorts the regional security situation and hypes so-called "external threats", raising concerns that Tokyo is using the rhetoric of "peace" and "defense" to justify military expansion and move further away from its long-standing principle of "exclusive defense", they said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China deplores and firmly rejects the new version of Japan's defense white paper, adding that China has lodged serious representations with Japan.
"The Defense of Japan 2026"white paper once again targeted China with groundless accusations, rehashing the so-called "China threat" narrative and grossly interfering in China's internal affairs with brazen comments on China's Taiwan region, Lin noted.
