Japan Pushes Back Against China-Russia 'Remilitarization' Claims
The rebuke came after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a joint statement Wednesday, alleging that Tokyo is accelerating its rearmament and destabilizing the broader region.
Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki, speaking at a press briefing, fired back on multiple fronts. He called on Beijing to "change its behavior" over issues such as Beijing's military activities, which he said are a "cause for serious concern for the international community," according to a Japanese news agency. Ozaki simultaneously urged Moscow to "stop its invasion of Ukraine."
The statement coincided with the conclusion of Putin's two-day state visit to China on Wednesday.
Bilateral ties between Tokyo and Beijing have been on a downward trajectory since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi warned last November that any potential Chinese use of force against Taiwan — which Beijing regards as a breakaway province — could constitute an existential threat to Japan, potentially triggering its right to collective self-defense.
Those remarks ignited sustained Chinese opposition to Japan's ongoing rearmament drive.
In a landmark shift from its postwar pacifist doctrine, Japan last month dismantled longstanding bans on military equipment exports, clearing the path for lethal weapons sales abroad as Tokyo moves aggressively to strengthen its defense sector and expand its geopolitical influence.
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