A group of Japanese political figures and residents gathered in Tokyo on Wednesday evening to voice their opposition to the country's skyrocketing defense spending and demanded Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi to retract her recent erroneous remarks regarding China's Taiwan region.
At a Diet meeting in early November, Takaichi claimed that the Chinese mainland's "use of force on Taiwan" could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan and implied the possibility of armed intervention in the Taiwan Strait, which drew strong criticism worldwide.
At the rally, protesters leveled harsh criticism of Takaichi's remarks on Taiwan. They argued that such statements seriously deviated from the Japanese government's longstanding position, undermined the foundation of China-Japan relations, and even pushed Japan toward the risk of military conflict.
"This is almost equivalent to a declaration of war. It tramples on all the agreements reached between China and Japan up to now. Besides, if such a thing were to actually happen, it would cause enormous casualties for both China and Japan. Despite knowing this, she still made such reckless statements, and their content is inconsistent with previous administrations' consistent stance. This has become a serious problem. It still hasn't been retracted. I think this is utterly presumptuous. It could not only affect the economy but could even trigger military conflict. I believe Takaichi should retract the remarks as soon as possible. If she cannot do that, I believe the current Takaichi administration, composed of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP), is no longer qualified to steer Japan's future," said Yamazoe Taku, a member of Japan's House of Councilors, the country's upper house of the National Diet.
Japan's House of Councilors passed a supplementary budget for fiscal year 2025 at a plenary session on Tuesday, pushing the country's defense spending to a record high.
The supplementary budget allocates an additional 1.1 trillion yen (about 7.7 billion U.S. dollars) for defense. Combined with the previously approved 9.9 trillion yen (about 69.2 billion U.S. dollars) defense budget, Japan's total defense spending for fiscal year 2025 reaches approximately 11 trillion yen (about 77 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for about 2 percent of its GDP.
Regarding the Japanese government's continuously expanding defense spending, protesters said that against the backdrop of persistent price hikes and increasing pressure on people's livelihoods, it is infuriating that the government is channeling vast amounts of fiscal funds into military expansion while neglecting public welfare needs.
"If defense spending rises to 21 trillion yen (approximately 140 billion U.S. dollars), healthcare, nursing care, welfare, and education will inevitably be severely squeezed. What we want is livelihood, not armaments," said Fukushima Mizuho, head of Japan's Social Democratic Party.
"If Japan gradually moves toward isolation in the international community and ultimately incites war, the ones who will suffer the damage will only be us ordinary citizens. This must absolutely not be allowed," said a protester.
"The government is cutting welfare, cutting budgets for healthcare and nursing care needed by people living in hardship, yet continuously pouring money into the military-industrial complex. I am very angry about this. Moreover, these budgets are being filled by borrowing money. Isn't this just shifting the burden onto the younger generation layer by layer? This truly pains me to see it," said another protester.
"At a time when the Japanese people are struggling so much due to soaring prices, to use money for military expansion is something I cannot accept," said a protester.
Japanese rally against PM's erroneous remarks on Taiwan, skyrocketing defense spending
