A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Saturday urged Japanese authorities to stop their hypocritical self-glorification and rein in their dangerous ambition of military expansion and war preparation, in responding to claims made by Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during visits to Australia and Vietnam.

It is reported that Takaichi recently visited Australia and Vietnam to strengthen security cooperation with the two countries. During her visits, she touted a so-called updated vision of "a free and open Indo-Pacific", and clamored that Japan's post-war constitution, drafted during US military occupation, should be periodically updated to meet the demands of the times.

Asked to comment on this, Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, the MND spokesperson, said that under the pretexts of the so-called "free and open Indo-Pacific" and "security cooperation", governing authorities in Japan are instigating bloc confrontation and building "small circles." This undermines the strategic security and interests of other countries, and serves as an excuse for Japan to break free from the restrictions on its military development, which we firmly oppose, Jiang said.

May 3, 2026 marks the 80th anniversary of the commencement of the Tokyo Trials. Over the past eight decades, right-wing forces in Japan have spared no effort in downplaying and defying the solemn ruling of the Tokyo Trials that embodies human conscience and historical justice, distorting and denying Japanese militarists' crimes of aggression well-documented in black and white. Class-A war criminals, guilty of heinous atrocities, have been glorified as "heroes" and honored at the Yasukuni Shrine, Jiang noted.

Post-war Japanese governments did promise to uphold the pacifist constitution and pursue the path of a peaceful nation. Later on, they started to pay lip service and take few actions to back up such promise. The Takaichi administration, however, openly pushes for amending Japan's constitution. This shows that the Japanese right-wing forces are shedding their pretense, and shifting from covert military buildup to overt war preparation, making Japan's "neo-militarism" a growing and more prominent threat to regional peace, the MND spokesperson said.

"We urge the Japanese governing authorities to stop their hypocritical self-glorification and rein in their dangerous ambition of military expansion and war preparation, demonstrate the courage to face up to history, and take real actions to atone for Japan's crimes, so as to earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community," Jiang said.