Japan's rapid remilitarization and attempts to break free from its pacifist constitution's constraints will erode neighboring countries' trust and heighten regional tensions, a scholar said.
The country has been accelerating its military buildup, with its defense budget increasing for 14 consecutive years and government officials openly advocating for nuclear armament.
In November, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi publicly indicated Japan's possible military intervention in Taiwan, and the country announced plans to revise key security documents.
Hiroshi Shiratori, a political science professor at Hosei University in Tokyo, argues that Japan's military expansion may not enhance its security but could instead undermine its image as a peaceful nation after World War II.
"Japan's outstanding buildup of defense capabilities may damage the progress that Japan has made over the past 80 years as a peaceful nation, as well as the trust of neighbors and East Asian countries," he said.
Takaichi has also said she is considering revising the third principle of the country's long-standing three non-nuclear principles -- not possessing, not producing and not allowing the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japanese territory.
Shiratori believes if such revisions proceed, it would represent a significant shift in the country's security policy and is certain to draw domestic and international backlash.
"In the first place, Japan, as the only country that has suffered atomic bombings, is sending out a message to the world that the three non-nuclear principles are fundamentally related to Japan's existence as a peaceful nation. And if we revise them, it will drastically change our image as a peaceful nation," he said.
The professor also said that the Japanese government's proclaimed fiscal policies -- including aggressive spending to fund military buildup and economic growth -- risk pushing Japan's finances into crisis, as well as exacerbating wealth inequality and social fragmentation.
"Now in this situation where the yen is depreciating, there is a risk that taking such active fiscal policy will further put the country's finances in crisis, and in turn, lose confidence in Japan's economy," he said.
Japan's military buildup erodes regional trust: scholar
