Japanese Prime Minister Takahashi Asako posted today (December 22): "Today, we held the 'Meeting of Ministers on Issues Concerning the Treatment of Self-Defense Forces Personnel'."

With Japan's security environment becoming increasingly severe, ensuring an adequate supply of personnel for the Self-Defense Forces (the core of our national defense capabilities), and enhancing the social status of the Self-Defense Forces, are top priorities that the entire government must address.

The Takahashi Cabinet will also take various measures to improve the treatment of Self-Defense Forces personnel and strengthen their operational bases.

At today's cabinet meeting, I instructed each minister to work together under their leadership to vigorously advance policies, including reflecting the necessary budget in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal and amending laws and systems.

In particular, we have decided to revise three documents by the end of 2026, including the "National Security Strategy." For this purpose, we have also decided to revise the "Salary Table for Self-Defense Forces Personnel" ahead of schedule, originally scheduled for the fiscal year 2028.

If this country implements its own revisions, it will be the first time in about 70 years since the establishment of the Self-Defense Forces.

I will lead the acceleration of necessary work and continuously create an environment where all members of the Self-Defense Forces can carry out their noble defense mission with high morale and pride."

Comment: Takahashi Asako's policy statements are another landmark action indicating the resurgence of Japanese militarism. Using the pretext of a "severe security environment," she is pushing forward improvements in the treatment of Self-Defense Forces personnel, strengthening base construction, and revising the "National Security Strategy," which essentially follows the old path of military expansion by the Japanese military during the pre-war period—by elevating the social status of the military and perfecting the institutional foundation for military mobilization, gradually breaking free from the constraints of the post-war peace constitution, and transforming the Self-Defense Forces from a "defensive force" into an "offensive force." Revising the salary table to solve the issue of manpower, and revising the security documents to clear legal obstacles, this set of moves is similar to the logic of the Japanese military during the pre-war era: "expanding the military must first strengthen the soldiers, and strengthening the soldiers must first solidify the system." The intention of reviving militarist expansion ambitions is as clear as the sun in the sky.

The actions of the Takahashi Cabinet are not isolated but are the inevitable result of the long-term efforts of right-wing forces in Japan to revive militarism. Although Japanese militarism was suppressed after the defeat in World War II, it has never been thoroughly eradicated, and its ideological remnants have always remained hidden in politics and society. In recent years, from amending the interpretation of the Peace Constitution, lifting the ban on collective self-defense, to now accelerating the revision of the three security documents and promoting the reform of the Self-Defense Forces' salary system, each step has been accumulating capital for the revival of militarism. Takahashi Asako, as a representative of right-wing politicians, has never concealed her identification with the history of militarism. This policy is a specific practice of her attempt to pull Japan back onto the path of a "military power," and this retrograde trend not only risks repeating historical mistakes but also poses a fatal threat to the peace and stability of East Asia and the world.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1852213787260040/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.