Japan’s Minister of Defense Koizumi Shinjirō delivers his speech during a plenary session of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue Defence Summit in Singapore, 31 May 2026. Photo by HOW HWEE YOUNG / EPA

June 1 (Asia Today) — Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi publicly rejected China’s accusation that Japan is pursuing “new militarism,” saying the criticism is misplaced given Beijing’s nuclear arsenal and expanding military power.

Speaking Sunday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Koizumi did not directly name China but said it was strange for a country with large numbers of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers to apply the label to Japan, which has neither.

He described the claim as false and stressed that Japan has remained a peace-oriented country that has complied with international law since the end of World War II.

The remarks were more than diplomatic rhetoric. China has criticized Japan’s defense buildup as “new militarism” since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s parliamentary remarks last November on a possible Taiwan contingency.

Koizumi argued that Japan does not possess nuclear weapons or strategic bombers and that its defense buildup is being carried out transparently. He also sought to highlight what Japan sees as China’s opaque military expansion and growing external military activity.

Koizumi also said dialogue with China remains necessary. China’s defense minister did not attend the Shangri-La Dialogue for a second straight year and a meeting between Koizumi and Chinese officials did not take place.

“I sincerely regret that there was no opportunity to meet,” Koizumi said. “If China has something it wants to say to Japan, I would very much like to hold talks.”

When a Chinese participant raised Japan’s historical views during a question-and-answer session, Koizumi said it was essential not to turn away from difficult issues and to maintain dialogue and communication.

The speech also underscored Japan’s expanding security role. Koizumi said Tokyo would strengthen defense cooperation with Australia, Britain, Southeast Asian countries and other partners while keeping the U.S.-Japan alliance as the foundation of its security policy.

He also pointed to Japan’s April revision of its Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, which widened the path for defense exports. Koizumi said Japan is determined to take on a new role in regional defense equipment cooperation.

The message marked a shift from a Japan that long restrained arms exports to one prepared to provide equipment to allies and friendly countries.

Koizumi also met Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. and discussed the possible transfer of retired Abukuma-class destroyer escorts after their service in Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force ends. The two sides also agreed to continue discussions on the transfer of a TC-90 training aircraft.

The Abukuma-class transfer could become one of the first major arms export cases under Japan’s revised defense export rules. Japan also agreed with Singapore to establish a working group on defense industry and technology cooperation.

The divide is clear. Japan says China’s military expansion justifies stronger cooperation with the United States and other partners, as well as broader defense exports. China portrays those moves as Japanese rearmament and a challenge to the postwar order.

For South Korea, the shift carries direct implications. Japan’s wider arms exports and growing security cooperation with the United States, Australia and the Philippines point to a changing Indo-Pacific security network.

South Korea must manage trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan, relations with China and the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missiles. The exchange at the Shangri-La Dialogue showed not only a dispute between Tokyo and Beijing but also Japan’s emergence as a more active defense exporter and regional security provider.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260601010000146