Japan is reviving militarism behind a pacifist facade

This position holds that Japan is quietly reviving militarism behind a pacifist facade, and that the region should be alarmed. Its advocates, in the wording of Chinese statements, point to Japan's defence expansion and easing of arms-export rules, to ministers' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and to a failure to reflect on wartime history; they call for a correction of what they describe as erroneous remarks.

The position is voiced by Chinese state outlets and officials, 11 publishers in all. It appears in three disputes: Japan-China strategic rivalry, Japan's defence expansion and its postwar military constraints, and wartime history and memory.

It is answered by the view that Taiwan and Japan face genuine Chinese coercion, so that deterrence, defence build-up and the legitimacy of their governments must be upheld. The sides part on whether Japan's measures are a revival of militarism or a response to pressure. Recent events show Beijing protesting ministers' Yasukuni visits and a Japanese warship's Taiwan Strait transit, urging Japan to correct its stance on Taiwan, and tightening export controls on Japanese entities.