The Japanese government's plans to beef up military capabilities may further intensify tensions in the region, Japanese scholar Tetsuhiko Nakajima said in a recent interview with a Chinese medial outlet.
Japan plans to revise its three security documents within the year while deepening the integration of military research with economic and industrial policy, which has raised concerns at home about military expansion and regional security.
Speaking with China Central Television in Nagoya, Nakajima, a professor at the Aichi Institute of Technology, said further military expansion would only escalate regional tensions.
"The more (the three security documents) are revised, the more they lead to escalating tensions, so this approach is not appropriate. What Japan is currently trying to advance is actually overall militarization, including the economy and industry. If the economy and industry become militarized, Japan could become a country that hopes for war in the world, or one that seeks to survive amid escalating military tensions. In some circumstances, it could even become a country that welcomes military conflict, the outbreak of war and the use of weapons," he said.
Regarding the government's plan to consider revising the Three Non-Nuclear Principles and acquire nuclear-powered submarines, Nakajima said such moves breach the exclusively defense-oriented policy and depart from Japan's pacifist constitution.
"I believe these practices violate the constitution, because these are offensive weapons. Japan had waged wars of aggression against multiple countries, including China, and was defeated. The reason Japan was able to achieve postwar recovery and rejoin the international community was that it sent a clear message to neighboring countries, reassuring them militarily — convincing them that Japan had become a country that would never attack again. Is Japan now going to return to its old path? I think Japan is now sending signals it should not be sending," said the Japanese scholar.
"If Japan carries out so much military research, given that it waged wars of aggression against many Asian countries in the past, once it starts down this road, I believe more and more foreign governments may come to see Japan as a dangerous country. That is certainly not in the interest of the Japanese people either," Nakajima added.
Japanese scholar warns military buildup may worsen regional tensions
