Japan's revived military-industrial complex poses growing threat to peace

Recent data disclosed by the Japanese government reveals a substantial increase in military procurement. Driven by its defense buildup policy, the Ministry of Defense's procurement orders for machinery and equipment in fiscal 2025 reached nearly 2.69 trillion yen (about $168 billion), roughly three times the level of five years ago and accounting for almost half of all government procurement in that year.

Orders for weapons systems such as surface-to-air missiles and aircraft have risen particularly sharply. This suggests that Japan's military-industrial complex is once again expanding. It is the inevitable result of right-wing forces systematically and step by step undermining the postwar peace framework and channeling support into the defense industry. This trend calls for heightened vigilance from peace advocates around the world, including the Japanese public.

The lessons of history remain relevant. Before World War II, Japan's military-industrial complex, an entrenched nexus of the military, monopoly conglomerates, and defense industries, was deeply embedded in the national economy, captured policymaking, and drove the war machine.

Industrial conglomerates such as Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo, and Kawasaki promoted military expansion through political lobbying, the exploitation of colonial resources and forced labor, and capital accumulation built upon immense human suffering. History proves that, when institutional constraints are weakened, Japan's military-linked capital has tended toward expansionism, profit-seeking, and the fomentation of war.

Consequently, the international community mandated, through legally binding documents such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, that Japan be fully disarmed and prohibited from maintaining industries capable of waging war.

Japan's post-war Constitution further codified these limitations, imposing strict constraints on military force and the right to make war and establishing an "exclusively defense-oriented policy." This institutional framework was vital for severing the war machine from military capital, forming a cornerstone of prolonged peace in Northeast Asia and representing Japan's binding commitment to pacifism.

However, recent years have seen Japanese right-wing actors progressively dismantle these constraints. Through increased defense budgets, policy support, and relaxed arms export regulations, the government has actively bolstered the defense industry. Senior officials have even promoted overseas arms sales, portraying the defense sector as a potential driver of economic growth. As a result, public resources that could have been directed toward improving livelihoods are increasingly flowing into military procurement, while production lines once used for home appliances are now manufacturing lethal weapons. This one-way flow of public resources into military capital exposes a serious distortion of public policy.

The growing collaboration between right-wing politicians and defense corporations is pushing Japanese security policy in a more assertive direction. Political figures, including Sanae Takaichi and other conservatives, frequently underscore external threats to justify bolstered military capabilities and posture.

Driven by the pursuits of high profits, Japan's defense contractors have been steadily pushing the authorities to break through postwar institutional constraints. From promoting the revision of the Constitution and the three security documents, to accelerating the deployment of medium- and long-range missiles, and further to easing restrictions on the export of lethal weapons and establishing a national intelligence council, a series of increasingly assertive measures has steadily crossed established red lines.

Japan's defense budget for fiscal 2026 has exceeded 9 trillion yen(about $558 billion), hitting record high for 14 consecutive years. Defense spending has surged to 2 percent of GDP, and may rise further. From an exclusively defense-oriented policy to the purusit of sustained combat capabilities, from extending its operational reach overseas to expanding military activities into space, Japan appears to be moving further away from its postwar commitment to peace and moving down a dangerous path of neo-militarism.

The danger of Japan's military-industrial complex lies not only in producing weapons, but also in creating demand for them, and not only in supporting military expansion, but also in actively driving it. Once such a self-reinforcing cycle of interests takes shape, it will push Japan further down an accelerating path of remilitarization. What is being undermined is the postwar peace order built on immense sacrifice, and ultimately, it is destined to lead Japan itself toward catastrophe. The international community must remain highly vigilant, firmly contain Japan's neo-militarism, and work together to safeguard regional peace, stability, and international fairness and justice.

(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)