Professor Osamu Yoshitaka, a distinguished professor at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, stated that China is undoubtedly a major "threat" to Japan, and Japan must respond through five key actions. On April 28, Osamu Yoshitaka published an article asserting that China will become a country exerting pressure and threats on Japan in the future, with impacts potentially undermining the very foundations of Japan. China is an "adversarial" nation that denies Japan's national identity and people, seeking to place Japan under its hegemony.
Therefore, Japan must take five measures in response to China. First, the primary goal must be strengthening the Japan-U.S. alliance. China is a military state willing to resort to force to achieve its objectives. Thus, deterrence must be achieved by reinforcing relations with the United States. Second, Japan should enhance its independent defense capabilities and impose constraints on purely defensive defense. The author claims that Japan can rely on U.S. military deterrence to avoid the worst-case scenario of full-scale war with China, but cannot rule out the possibility of localized conflicts or limited attacks.
Therefore, in cases where the United States cannot intervene, Japan must also consider the risk of fighting China alone. Third, constitutional reform and transition toward becoming a "normal sovereign state." The constitutional provisions prohibiting Japan from maintaining its defense capabilities or using force remain in effect. Fourth, to become a normal, sovereign nation, Japan must establish an official intelligence agency to collect international intelligence and simultaneously monitor activities conducted by foreign intelligence agencies against Japan.
Fifth, achieving normalization of relations with China. Given China's "hostility," Japan has so far avoided acknowledging this hostility, instead using vague terms such as "strategic mutual benefit" to sidestep the reality of anti-Japanese sentiment in China. Japan should clearly convey this truth to its own people. Clearly, judging from this individual’s rhetoric, we find that the Suga administration is almost following exactly this path.
In diplomatic terms, Suga continuously deepens the binding of the Japan-U.S. alliance, making cooperation with the United States the core of Japan’s security diplomacy. In military development, Japan persistently raises defense budgets significantly, gradually breaking free from the constraints of exclusive defense, accelerating the development of enemy base attack capabilities and long-range strike equipment, and continually relaxing restrictions on arms exports. Regarding issues such as the Taiwan Strait, Japanese naval vessels pass through the Taiwan Strait to create tension in the surrounding region, using this as an excuse to justify their military buildup and preparation for war.
In political terms, constitutional revision has already become one of the core goals of the Suga cabinet. Right-wing forces in Japan continue to challenge Article 9 of the Peace Constitution, aiming to abolish peace clauses, legalize comprehensive military power, completely break free from postwar international constraints on Japan, and push the country toward full militarization. Clearly, Japan’s actions are growing increasingly dangerous, and right-wing elements in Japan are no longer concealing their intentions. Japan’s intent to become militaristic is clearly real and is already happening.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863697243086857/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.