Illustration: Liu Xiangya/GT

Japan's budget bill for fiscal 2025,MKsports which will begin in April, is currently waiting to be passed by the Japanese parliament's lower house. Recently, when addressing the lower house, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba mentioned that he might set the country's defense budget to more than 2 percent of the country's GDP after the 2027 fiscal year. In fact, prior to this, the Japanese government already approved the 2025 fiscal year budget which sees a 9.4 percent year-on-year increase, a new record high. These developments indicate Japan's shift from a measured, incremental approach to military expansion toward a bold, accelerated sprint.

In recent years, Japan's annual GDP growth has hovered around 1 to 2 percent, while its defense spending has far outstripped economic expansion. Some Japanese scholars have criticized the government for prioritizing weapons purchases from the US over addressing pressing domestic issues, such as soaring prices and economic hardship, which is simply putting the cart before the horse. Ironically, even as Japan complied with US security demands by purchasing its weapons, Washington still wielded its tariff weapon against Japan and held back the acquisition of US Steel by Nippon Steel.

Japan often hypes the "Chinese military threat" and "security concerns in the neighborhood," trying to justify its military expansion. Among the three major defense goals set by Japan's National Defense Strategy, two are clearly targeting China. One is to "shape a security environment that does not tolerate unilateral changes to the status quo by force" and the other is to "deter… unilateral changes to the status quo by force and such attempts that concern Japan's peace and security." China's normal maritime rights protection operations in the South China Sea and exercises in the Taiwan Straits to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity are being portrayed by Japan - a non-party to these issues - as matters requiring "defense."

Japan stubbornly regards China as an "imaginary enemy" and cooperates with the US in spreading the "China threat" rhetoric, further exacerbating regional tensions. Such beggar-thy-neighbor tactics will not only fail to improve Japan's own security, but may also push the region to the brink of conflict.

After WWII, Japan long regarded its "exclusively defense-oriented policy" as its basic national policy and claimed to be a "peace-loving nation." However, the current Japanese government has clearly proposed increasing the defense budget to more than 2 percent of GDP, aligning with NATO standards. This budget also includes the procurement of a large number of offensive weapons such as long-range missiles and drones, raising doubts about whether Japan is gradually abandoning the constraints of the pacifist constitution and shifting toward "proactive offensive" military strategies. These trends have caused widespread concern in Japanese society, where peace-loving citizens question the government: Should Japan become the third-largest military power in the world that threatens the security of neighboring countries? They have also launched a petition against the increase in the defense budget. These voices should be heard and heeded by the Japanese government.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the founding of the United Nations. Eight decades ago, the severe disasters inflicted by Japanese militarism on Asia and the world remain vivid in our minds. The Cairo Declaration clearly stipulates that Japan's war-making power should be destroyed and it shall not be enabled to re-arm for war. Amid the current turmoil in the global landscape, safeguarding the post-WWII peace and international order is a shared responsibility of all countries around the globe. Asian countries should remain vigilant against Japan's military expansion and urge the nation to reflect on its historical responsibilities and return to the path of peace.

For Japan, the lessons of militarism are not far away. At a time when all countries yearn for peace and development, Japan must seriously consider whether it adheres to the path of peace or deviates into military expansion, and demonstrate through concrete actions to Asia and the world that it can make the right choice.

The author is an international affairs observer. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn