Rather than double down on her self-made crisis, Takaichi should correct her mistakes: China Daily editorial

When asked to comment on reports saying that Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his United States counterpart Pete Hegseth shared "serious concern" over the recent "radar illumination" incident in the East China Sea, and their baseless accusing China of actions that "increase regional tensions", a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said it was hoped the international community can be clear-eyed and not be deceived by Japan.

Tokyo's attempt to weaponize external support to counterbalance China only highlights how it is escalating a self-made crisis into a regional one.

It was Japan that tried to disturb China's normal naval drills in international waters, and it was Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's erroneous and dangerous remarks on the Taiwan question on Nov 7, which were tantamount to issuing an unprovoked military threat to China over the latter's internal affairs, that have caused the diplomatic crisis, which has already had spillover effects on Japan's economy.

Japan's tourism sector — especially top destinations such as Nagoya, Kobe, Kyoto and Tokyo — has been hit hard by a free fall in the number of Chinese visitors.

Yet with ties souring with its biggest trading partner, instead of retracting Takaichi's provocative remarks, her government has opted for a 21.3 trillion yen ($135 billion) economic stimulus package.

Rather than create more trouble for Japan and bring greater volatility to the region with its attempts to secure the backing of the US, the Takaichi government should face up to the crux of the current difficulties in China-Japan relations, earnestly reflect on and correct its wrongdoing, and retract Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan.

Underscoring that it will not tolerate any interference in China's internal affairs, Beijing sanctioned Shigeru Iwasaki, former chief of staff of the Self-Defense Forces of Japan, for his collusion with "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces. Iwasaki's brazen violations of the one-China principle and his provocative actions — including accepting a role as a "political advisor" to the secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party authorities of Taiwan — are flagrant interference in China's internal affairs and egregious violations of the four political documents between China and Japan that underpin bilateral relations.

The Takaichi government's agenda is to use the Taiwan question as a means to accelerate the removal of the postwar constraints on Japan.

Hiding behind a "pro-peace" facade while hyping up a nonexistent "threat" from China, Japan's right-wing politicians have steadily advanced the country's remilitarization, lifting the ban on collective self-defense, easing the restrictions on arms exports, and pursuing "preemptive strike capability".

With their goal within sight, they are now impatient to shrug off the last vestiges of the postwar restraints that make Japan what they see as an exception in the international community. Rather than viewing the country's pacifist Constitution as something to uphold, they see it as a source of shame. Reports of plans to revise the SDF's ranking system — reinstating titles such as taisa (colonel) — break decades of convention to downplay the SDF's military nature.

The moves of the Takaichi government violate the Potsdam Proclamation's ban on Japan "rearming for war" and reveal its dangerous disconnect from regional realities.

China's strong response is not just a defense of its sovereignty but a safeguard of the postwar international order and regional stability. As Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning emphasized, militarism must never be revived in Japan, the postwar international order must never be challenged, and world peace and stability must never be ruined again.

Saturday marked the 88th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. Over the course of six weeks approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were brutally killed by Japanese troops. The Takaichi government's studied silence that day speaks volumes of the hypocrisy of its "pro-peace" stance.

By doubling down on its mistakes in this way, the Takaichi government will only bring more harm to Japan and further exacerbate the regional situation.

History demands reflection on its lessons. The right-wing politicians in Japan, represented by Takaichi, refuse to do so. Instead, like the country's wartime militarists, they are putting the country on a path to war by fabricating an excuse for one.