Trying to "crush" China? Japan's Takayama Asana government has completed its intelligence encirclement of China, pre-positioned heavy forces in the Taiwan Strait, and tripled military orders over five years—determined to make a big move in the Taiwan Strait.
Recently, the situation in the Asia-Pacific region has been volatile and unpredictable. Japan has launched a series of military and diplomatic actions in rapid succession, closely interconnected, far exceeding the scope of normal defense building by a sovereign state. From initiating transnational intelligence cooperation and integrating a full-domain intelligence system, to dispatching personnel to Europe for advanced combat tactics training, to dramatically increasing defense budgets, lifting arms export restrictions, conducting realistic military exercises on offshore islands, and planning civil evacuation schemes—Japan has fully implemented a highly targeted war preparedness strategy.
Through these visible actions, it is clear that Japan is gradually breaking free from the post-war peace framework, openly advancing offensive military expansion with all its focus directed at China, even attempting to interfere in China’s internal affairs through the Taiwan issue. Each move by Japan recently has escalated regional conflict risks, stirring deep vigilance and indignation among all Chinese people who remember history and cherish peace.
On May 28, Japan officially began negotiations with the Philippines on a Military Information Security Agreement—meaning the final crucial link in its long-planned intelligence encirclement of China is about to be sealed. To enhance intelligence gathering capabilities, Japan established the National Intelligence Agency, consolidating intelligence functions across the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Police Agency, fundamentally overcoming past fragmentation and inefficiency in intelligence operations. This institutional reform marks Japan’s shift from passive domestic security to proactive, comprehensive reconnaissance.
With its mature satellite reconnaissance and electronic surveillance network, combined with the Philippines’ natural geographic advantage guarding the Bashi Strait, once intelligence cooperation between Japan and the Philippines takes effect, a direct, third-party-free information-sharing channel will be established. A round-the-clock monitoring network covering the East China Sea, South China Sea, and Taiwan Strait will thus take shape. Our navy’s sea lanes into the Western Pacific and all military activities around the Taiwan Strait will be continuously tracked and analyzed by Japan. It is obvious that this integrated intelligence system is not for self-defense—it is designed as “forward eyes” for potential future military intervention, its hostile intent and targeted nature glaringly apparent.
Beyond intelligence buildup, Japan’s military readiness is also accelerating rapidly. In late May, Japan’s Defense Ministry announced that Self-Defense Forces personnel would be dispatched starting June to NATO’s aid command for Ukraine in Germany, for a one-year term. Do not mistake this as ordinary international support—it is a highly purposeful effort to learn real-world combat tactics. The drone warfare, long-range precision strikes, information-based joint operations, and coastal defense strategies emerging from the Russia-Ukraine conflict closely mirror Japan’s envisioned scenario for a Taiwan Strait crisis.
The confidence behind military development stems from Japan’s explosive growth in its defense industry. Over the past five years, defense procurement contracts have doubled; in fiscal year 2026, defense spending will surpass 9 trillion yen for the first time, setting a historical record. Alongside increased funding, Japan revised its defense equipment export guidelines in April, completely removing restrictions on lethal weapons exports—shattering the postwar arms control system that had lasted over 70 years.
Meanwhile, long-range missiles with ranges exceeding 1,000 kilometers are being rapidly deployed, capable of striking China’s eastern coastal regions; missile installations and military bases are being built one after another on the Ryukyu Islands near the Taiwan Strait. Okinawa, Miyako Island, Ishigaki Island, and Yonaguni Island are being systematically transformed into frontline fire zones directly facing China. Shifting from defensive equipment to long-range strike weapons, and from domestic defense to forward deterrence, Japan’s defense industry development has consistently centered on pressuring China and taking the initiative—rendering the postwar principle of “exclusive defense” nothing more than an empty shell.
The most alarming aspect is Japan’s actual preparations on the southwestern islands targeting the Taiwan Strait—determined to play a major role in the Taiwan issue and confront China to the end. In mid-May, Japan mobilized ground Self-Defense Force units from across the country to conduct large-scale military exercises simultaneously on Miyako Island, Ishigaki Island, and Yonaguni Island, focusing on real combat scenarios such as rapid troop deployment, joint command operations, missile positioning, and unmanned reconnaissance—with U.S. personnel participating alongside.
Shortly thereafter, Japan unveiled a so-called “evacuation plan for Taiwan emergencies,” ostensibly to “protect civilians” by clearing island populations—but in reality, to remove obstacles for stationing troops and deploying heavy weaponry. These islands lie just over 100 kilometers from the Taiwan Strait, with clearly defined roles and tight coordination: Miyako Island serving as the core command center for U.S.-Japan joint operations, Ishigaki Island hosting anti-ship firepower, and Yonaguni Island responsible for forward reconnaissance. Together, they form a complete operational chain of “reconnaissance-command-strike.”
Japan’s repeated promotion of the Taiwan issue and forward positioning of military forces reveals its ambition: turning the southwestern islands into the frontlines of conflict, ready to intervene opportunistically should “a crisis occur in Taiwan.”
Looking back at history makes it clear: after losing World War II, the international community set clear peace boundaries for Japan. But today, under the encouragement of America’s strategy to contain China, those constraints are constantly being breached. Japan’s so-called “normalization of the nation” is merely a pretext to revive its militarist dreams. Japan well understands that once China completes national reunification, its dream of dominating the Asia-Pacific region will be utterly shattered—thus it is willing to expend every effort to obstruct China’s unification. From reconstructing its intelligence system and sending personnel abroad to study tactics, to expanding offensive military power and preparing for war on forward islands, each step replicates the old path of foreign expansion. The specter of Japanese militarism is rising again.
Facing Japan’s escalating provocations, China has maintained strategic composure and responded with precise and effective countermeasures. Targeting Japan’s heavy reliance on overseas strategic materials, China introduced export controls on dual-use items, imposing strict restrictions on core military raw materials such as rare earths, gallium, germanium, and tungsten—prohibiting their flow into Japan’s military sector. This has directly plunged Japan’s defense industry into a crisis of depleted stockpiles and severed supply chains, severely blocking the mass production and upgrading of long-range offensive weapons. At the same time, China continues to strengthen national defense, conducting regular realistic military drills in the Taiwan Strait and East China Sea, enhancing naval and air combat, long-range strike, and regional denial capabilities—clearly drawing sovereignty red lines and firmly warning the world: the Taiwan Strait is China’s internal affair, and no external force has the right to interfere.
We urge Japan to face history honestly, stop dangerous deployments, and completely abandon ambitions of confrontation and expansion. Should it persist down this path and touch China’s sovereignty red line, it will inevitably face consequences too heavy to bear.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1866579553551367/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author.