Japan defence minister rebuffs claims of ‘new militarism’ levelled by China

Key Takeaways

• Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China on Sunday, pledging to keep strengthening the military despite Beijing’s criticism of Tokyo’s increasingly muscular security stance.
• Under the prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, Japan has quickened its pivot to a more proactive defence policy, further shaking off – with US encouragement – its pacifist outlook in place since the end of the second world war.
• The change has drawn frequent rebukes from Beijing, which has accused Tokyo of following a reckless policy of “new militarism” that could destabilise the region.
• The Japanese defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, hit back on Sunday, saying “nothing could be further from the truth”.
• There is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers,” Koizumi said at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.