Military and diplomatic tensions between Japan and China have intensified in recent days. As the two countries continue competing military activities around the Taiwan Strait, Japan has allowed exports of lethal weapons that had been banned and even dedicated offerings at the Yasukuni Shrine, further heightening tensions. China called Japan's actions "new militarism," criticizing, "Japan is trying to overturn the international order formed as a defeated nation in World War II. This is already a real threat."
Japan has been expanding its military moves this month. According to Chinese state media and Taiwan's Liberty Times, the Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Ikazuchi transited the Taiwan Strait on the 131st anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki on the 17th. It also officially joined for the first time a U.S.- and Philippines-led multinational joint military exercise, deploying about 1,400 troops. Around the same time, the Japanese government revised the three principles on defense equipment transfer and their operational guidelines, effectively allowing the export of lethal weapons that had been banned under the pacifist constitution system.
In response, China is also expanding military activities in the Taiwan Strait. According to Chinese authorities, the Eastern Theater Command conducted a combat-readiness patrol on the 18th and sent the aircraft carrier Liaoning to the Taiwan Strait. After the destroyer Baotou sailed past waters near Japan into the western Pacific, a warship flotilla also passed near the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture (called Diaoyu Dao in China), raising the level of its response.
As military tensions rise, diplomatic conflict is also intensifying. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has repeatedly dedicated offerings and ritual expenses to the Yasukuni Shrine, and cabinet ministers and lawmakers paid visits. China immediately reacted strongly. The Korean government also issued criticism, but Prime Minister Takaichi dedicated additional payment for offerings the next day.
In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in China labeled Japan's moves "a blatant provocation against international justice." Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, "The Yasukuni Shrine enshrines Class-A war criminals who bear direct responsibility for wars of aggression. It is a symbol and spiritual tool of Japanese militarism launching wars of external aggression," adding, "Any attempt to glorify aggression history and justify war criminals can never be tolerated. China expresses strong anger and sternly condemns this."
Chinese state media also escalated its criticism. In an editorial on the 23rd, Global Times defined Japan's recent moves as "a systematic attempt at remilitarization combining ideology, policy, military, and diplomacy," and argued, "New militarism shaking the postwar peace system has already emerged as a real threat."
Global Times said, "The fundamental purpose of these moves by the Takaichi administration is to break free from the political constraints of being a defeated nation and move toward becoming a military power capable of exerting force abroad and even waging war," adding, "Japan no longer aims to remain a follower of the United States, but is simultaneously seeking roles as both a disruptor and a leader. The international community should clearly recognize that what Japan is doing is not a simple defensive choice by a sovereign state, but a systematic attempt to shake the postwar international order and an act that threatens peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."