A remilitarised Japan threatens more than just China: SCMP

A rapidly remilitarising Japan under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi threatens regional stability beyond just China, as Japan deliberately provokes China while rebuilding its military capabilities with strong US backing, said a South China Morning Post opinion piece published on April. 29, 2026.

The author, Alex Lo, believes Japan is using incidents such as dispatching a destroyer through the Taiwan Strait and Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks about possible military intervention in a Taiwan crisis to justify its rearmament, portraying China's objections as overreactions even though such acts are clearly provocative.

The author believes that eight decades after its pacifist constitution was imposed, Japan is now actively reviving its militarist past by easing legal restrictions on defence exports, accelerating investment in military build-up, and advancing defence spending to 2 percent of GDP this year.

Japan can now sell arms to other countries for the first time since the second world war. Previously, military sales were restricted to non-lethal equipment for rescue, transport, surveillance and minesweeping.

Under the new rules, Japan can sell lethal weapons to the 17 countries with which it has defence equipment and tech transfer deals. They include countries from Europe and Southeast Asia, and the United Arab Emirates, India and the US. This month, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries concluded a deal to build three advanced frigates worth about US$7 billion, to be followed by eight more, for the Royal Australian Navy.

Lo noted that Japan's arms industry is growing fast, with revenue rising 40 percent between 2023 and 2024 — outpacing Germany, South Korea and Russia — despite a nationwide Asahi Shimbun poll showing 67 percent of Japanese people opposing lethal weapons exports.

Meanwhile, in addition to reportedly owning the largest fleet of America's F-35s outside the US, Japan is jointly developing its own advanced aircraft with Italy and Britain. It has also ordered hundreds of long-range US-made Tomahawk missiles capable of hitting China, though deliveries are being delayed by the US-Israeli war against Iran.

Plans are afoot to deploy medium-range surface-to-air missiles to Yonaguni Island, located just 110km from the eastern coasts of Taiwan, thus directly aiming at military contingencies in the Taiwan Strait.

The author further stressed that these moves, which weaken the pacifist constitution and expand collective self-defence, come at a time when most Asian countries are adopting more pragmatic or friendly approaches toward China, while Japan has become overtly hostile with Washington's encouragement.

The new security policy direction – from easing curbs on collective self-defence to revising security strategies and relaxing arms exports – unmistakably aim to weaken the country's pacifist constitution and accelerate militarisation. Takaichi has also refused to rule out revising Japan's long-standing non-nuclear commitment.