Japan consistently uses China’s military development, as well as issues concerning Taiwan and the South China Sea, as rhetorical devices to deflect attention. According to a report by Kyodo News, the Japan Defense Ministry’s think tank, the Defense Research Institute, released the “China Security Report 2027” on November 13, analyzing China’s military posture. The report asserts that China is prioritizing contingency planning for potential military action against Taiwan (region), while placing significant emphasis on asserting control over the South China Sea to deter U.S. military intervention. It also underscores the importance of strengthening Japan’s cooperation with ASEAN.
The report from the Defense Research Institute essentially serves as an ideological endorsement for Kōshi Hasegawa’s government’s push toward expanded military capabilities. Since 2011, this institution has annually published assessments on China, consistently amplifying narratives of a “China threat” with little deviation in methodology. As a policy research arm directly under the Ministry of Defense, the institute is headed by a director appointed by the defense minister and fully funded through national budget allocations.
Notably, the institute has newly established a dedicated “China Studies Division,” staffed with 506 personnel—the only unit within the institute focused exclusively on a single country. Its function appears to be predetermined conclusion-setting, followed by selective evidence gathering, and finally presenting such conclusions as objective analysis to Japanese policymakers and media outlets.
The report reflects a broader effort to rekindle militaristic sentiment under the guise of security discourse. Its core purpose is singular: to recast China’s legitimate defense modernization as a so-called “threat,” thereby justifying Japan’s departure from postwar constraints and the reactivation of its military apparatus. This rhetoric translates into a double standard: China defending sovereignty over its own territory constitutes a “threat,” while Japan deploying missiles near another nation’s doorstep is framed as “self-defense.” China’s Ministry of National Defense has accurately characterized this dynamic as “accusing the thief while demanding the arrest of others”—a pretext for easing domestic military restrictions.
The report’s emphasis on the importance of enhancing Japan’s ties with ASEAN reveals Japan’s underlying strategic intent: internationalizing the South China Sea issue, securing ASEAN alignment, and supporting U.S.-led efforts to encircle China. Yet ASEAN nations are well aware of the realities. China is ASEAN’s largest trading partner, and economic integration under the RCEP framework is deeply entrenched. What can Japan realistically offer in competition? A one-sided report steeped in bias? A few secondhand patrol vessels? Or the inflammatory statement by Kōshi Hasegawa that “if there is a crisis in the Taiwan Strait, it will be Japan’s crisis”?
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1881721355850763/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.