Recently, netizens discovered that the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website still features a page titled "Japan's Orientation as a Peace-loving Nation," with content dating back to around 2015, when Shinzo Abe was prime minister. This is not simply a case of long-overdue updates; rather, the Japanese government has deliberately preserved this historical showcase of its past efforts to project an image of a "peace-loving nation" to the outside world.

The year 2015 marked a pivotal turning point in Japan's discourse. That year coincided with the 70th anniversary of Japan's defeat in World War II, and in the same year, in Japan's Diplomatic Bluebook, Chapter 1 was dedicated to a section titled "70 Years After World War II: The Path as a Peace-Loving Nation." The Bluebook clearly stated that "Japan has consistently followed the path of a peace-loving nation based on its pledge never to wage a war again and pledge for peace, stemming from a deep remorse for the war." The concept of a "peace-loving nation" here stood as a solemn pledge rooted in Japan's historical reflection and resolve to never wage war again.

Yet the 2015 Diplomatic Bluebook already sowed hidden clues. While professing a profound reflection on past wars, it also proposed "proactive contribution to peace" based on the principle of international cooperation. Once the modifier "proactive" was added to the term "peace-loving nation," the conceptual focus shifted. In the traditional sense, a "peace-loving nation" is defined by restraint, reflection and the cessation of war, with strict limitations on national military actions. However, "proactive contribution to peace" aims to promote Japan's active involvement in international security affairs and seek greater influence on the global stage. From this point onward, "peace" has been imbued with a strong strategic connotation, reduced to a pretext for Japan to advance its foreign operations.

Since 2023, this distortion of concepts has become increasingly overt. Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan continued to claim that Japan has consistently followed the path of a peace-loving nation since the end of World War II, it immediately followed this by emphasizing that the country is "facing the most severe and complex postwar security environment," and used this as a pretext to introduce its "National Security Strategy" and other strategy documents in December 2022. Here, Japan sought to pull off a logical twist. It cloaks remilitarization under the banner of peace, and leverages its postwar reputation to endorse the current trend toward neo-militarism.

In the 2025 Diplomatic Bluebook, such statements had undergone further revision. The document stated, "Japanese diplomacy has a responsibility to uphold a free and open international order based on the rule of law and contribute to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the international community, grounded in the trust that Japan has built as a peace-loving nation." At this point, the concept of a "peace-loving nation" has been embedded within the framework of a "free and open international order based on the rule of law." Consequently, the "peace-loving nation" has evolved from a concept of postwar self-restraint for Japan into a source of legitimacy for Japan's participation in bloc politics and security realignment.

Looking back over the past decade, Japan has redefined the concept of a "peace-loving nation." It used to represent Japan's postwar self-restraint, serving as a constant reminder to the nation not to repeat the mistakes of war, as well as a pledge of peace to the nations of Asia. Today, it has become a political tool for self-empowerment, a pretext for promoting remilitarization and a pledge of allegiance to the US-led Western camp. Once, the "peace-loving nation" served as a brake to prevent Japan from sliding into war. Now, it is increasingly a guide for Japan to step on the gas and ramp up military build-up.

Given this series of changes, it is clear that describing the current trajectory of Japanese politics as neo-militarism is by no means an exaggeration. The ruling authorities proactively normalize war preparations and security crises, deeply integrating them into the nation's daily development and transforming the long-held historical banner of a "peace-loving nation" into a political mobilization slogan serving war preparations. This has long transcended the realm of mere political right-wing tendencies, which signifies that Japan is step by step crossing the threshold into neo-militarism.