Japan says China's militarism warning not based on facts

Tokyo: Japan pushed back against claims by China's top diplomat Wang Yi that Tokyo was returning to militarism, saying the assertion did not reflect reality.

After Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said on Saturday that Wang's comments were "not based on facts," the Foreign Ministry reinforced that position in a social media post on Sunday.

"Japan's efforts to strengthen its defence capabilities are in response to an increasingly severe security environment and are not directed against any specific third country," the ministry said.


Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Monday that Japan had lodged a protest with China over the remarks. "Post-war Japan's consistent contribution to the peace and stability of the international community has been widely recognized by global society," he added.

The exchange followed verbal sparring between Japanese and Chinese delegations at the Munich Security Conference, underscoring an ongoing freeze in ties between the two Asian powers after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's comments on Taiwan in November.

Wang on Saturday invoked Japan's World War II history of aggression and warned Takaichi against a return to militarism, signalling Beijing has little intention of easing tensions after the Japanese leader strengthened her position with a historic election victory.

Tensions escalated after Takaichi said a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could constitute an "existential threat," a characterization that could provide Japan legal grounds to deploy troops. China's foreign minister said Takaichi's remarks "directly violate China's territorial sovereignty" and challenge what Beijing considers the settled status of Taiwan.

China claims Taiwan - a self-governed democratic island between Japan and China - as its territory, an assertion Taipei rejects. Beijing has not ruled out the use of force to bring the island under its control.