Japan's 2025 Defense White Paper continues to hype its so-called security anxieties. While the rhetoric offers little novelty, its expansionist ambitions have fueled widespread international concern and distrust toward Japan's security stance.
A global poll conducted by CGTN reveals that 92 percent of respondents remain highly vigilant about Japan's moves, urging Japan to reflect deeply on the lessons of World War II (WWII), exercise restraint in military and security matters and take concrete steps to promote regional peace and stability.
The poll, conducted across CGTN's English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Russian platforms, gathered responses from 5,365 participants within 24 hours.
The white paper exaggerates the security challenges and threats posed by neighboring countries, reflecting Japan's strategic anxieties in the Asia-Pacific security landscape. As many as 82.6 percent of respondents point out that Japan is deliberately fabricating external threats to justify its military expansion, a move that will severely erode trust among Asian neighbors and the international community.
In reality, the one persistently fueling security threats in northeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific is none other than Japan itself. With its FY2025 defense budget hitting a record 8.7 trillion yen (some $59 billion), 76.2 percent of respondents believe the Japanese government has violated the spirit of its pacifist constitution and post-war international commitments.
Starting from FY2025, Japan will also deploy over 1,000 upgraded Type 12 anti-ship missiles and equip its Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels with U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles, a move that 84.7 percent of respondents fear will escalate regional arms races and undermine peace and stability.
In recent years, Japan has continuously relaxed restrictions on arms exports, formed exclusive military "cliques" to instigate bloc confrontations, and repeatedly attempted to revise its "Three Non-Nuclear Principles." 82.3 percent of respondents criticize that these actions severely undermine the post-war international order and pose major challenges to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Alarmingly, this year, the Japanese government for the first time distributed a children's version of the Defense White Paper to schools, pushing militarist ideology into early education. 79.6 percent of respondents express concern about this move, warning against indoctrinating young students with a distorted security outlook.
Successive post-war Japanese governments have long denied its history of aggression, with Cabinet members repeatedly visiting the Yasukuni Shrine which enshrines convicted Class-A war criminals. According to the poll, 84.2 percent of respondents criticize Japan for failing to thoroughly eradicate the remnants of militarism and urge it to adopt a correct historical perspective on WWII, taking responsible actions to regain the trust of its neighbors and the world.