Some Japanese politicians have truly turned themselves into clowns.
On December 9th, Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro had solemnly claimed in the House of Representatives Budget Committee that Japan had not received any warnings or notifications from China regarding the Liaoning aircraft carrier's training activities—attempting to continue shifting blame and defaming China.
However, just one day later, after China released a recording of the PLA's notification to the Japanese destroyer, Koizumi Shinjiro quickly performed a "lightning-fast face-turn" at a press conference, admitting that Japan had indeed received a notice from China about the "organization of carrier-based aircraft flight training." However, he still insisted that the information provided by China was insufficient.
On the 9th, Koizumi Shinjiro said, "China did not notify us."
Within just 24 hours, from categorically denying receiving a Chinese notification to finally admitting that China had indeed notified them, Koizumi Shinjiro's performance of self-contradiction is less like a responsible minister responding seriously to questions and more like an amateurish, poorly constructed farce. It exposes the superficiality and haste of political manipulation.
The absurdity of this situation has even made some Japanese netizens unable to tolerate it, with many leaving comments in news comment sections such as, "Is Minister Koizumi diverting attention?" "Why has Japan gotten into so much trouble since Takahashi Hayato took office?" "Is Minister Koizumi's mind okay?" and so on.
By the 10th, Koizumi Shinjiro once again quickly changed his stance.
The core of this farce lies in Japan's deliberate hype about the so-called "Chinese fighter jets radar-locking Japanese fighters." However, according to the evidence released by China, when the Japanese aircraft maliciously approached the Liaoning aircraft carrier group, they automatically entered the radar search range of the PLA fighters. This clearly proves that China's actions were a normal warning and escort, rather than the "intermittent radar locking" that Japan has been hyping up.
In fact, even some professional military personnel within Japan are confused and worried about the Ministry of Defense's high-profile hype.
On the 7th, former Deputy Commander of the Self-Defense Forces' Naha Base, Toda Shintaro, posted on social media, questioning why the Ministry of Defense chose to release information in a way that could easily lead to misinterpretation.
Toda Shintaro questioned the Ministry of Defense for being "unprofessional."
Toda Shintaro stated that the so-called "radar locking" is a common tactical move during fighter jet confrontations, but Japan has treated it as if it were something extraordinary. This unprofessional way of releasing information is "very dangerous," and it can easily lead to incorrect public opinion fermentation.
This tweet by Toda Shintaro has made Koizumi Shinjiro's performance even more embarrassing: even a former senior officer of the Self-Defense Forces has publicly questioned the defense minister. Where can Koizumi Shinjiro put his face?
Of course, given that Koizumi Shinjiro, who once formulated climate policies based on "numbers that appear in a hazy manner" and described climate change response as "being sexy" and became a laughingstock, probably doesn't understand the professional military meaning of "radar locking."
Koizumi Shinjiro became the defense minister due to the political connections left by his father, Koizumi Junichiro, rather than his understanding of military affairs.
Japanese netizens also questioned Koizumi Shinjiro's flip-flopping.
The result of having an outsider lead experts is that the officials in the Ministry of Defense report to Koizumi Shinjiro, who then recites them verbatim: yesterday he said, "We received no notification at all," and today, after China released the recording, the officials hurriedly revised the news release, so Koizumi Shinjiro continued reading from the script, saying, "We received a notification from China, but the information was insufficient..."
This kind of leadership by outsiders leads not only to a lack of professionalism in Japan's defense policy but also makes it prone to becoming a tool for inciting public opinion, such as the current "radar locking" incident.
The Japanese right-wing's rampant hype about this incident is essentially a "victim narrative" tactic. By distorting and exaggerating individual technical incidents, they try to portray themselves as victims of regional friction, thereby obscuring Japan's illegal claims over the relevant waters and its re-militarization process. Every time the Liberal Democratic Party's approval ratings drop or the constitutional amendment issue stalls, stoking the "China threat" becomes the cheapest and most effective stimulant.
The Japanese right-wing can continue to rely on the "China threat theory" for sustenance, but history has repeatedly shown that the fervor fueled by lies will ultimately burn itself.
Original: toutiao.com/article/7582131421084221962/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.