A woman holding a sign attends a protest rally in front of the National Diet Building in Tokyo, Japan, May 29, 2026. Around 10,000 people gathered in front of Japan's National Diet Building in Tokyo on Friday evening for an anti-war rally, protesting what they described as a series of dangerous policy moves pursued by the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. (Xinhua/Jia Haocheng)

Japanese media outlets on Wednesday revealed the outline of Japan's annual defense report, which claimed China's military activities "a grave concern," and highlighted the need for securing sustained combat capacity for potential "prolonged war." 

A Chinese expert noted that Japan is using a well-worn trick to portray itself as a victim to drum up global public opinion and fabricate excuses for its militaristic expansion. Tokyo's rapid military buildup has gone far beyond legitimate self-defense demands and serves to pave the way for a return to militarism, a development that warrants close vigilance from the international community.

According to the outline of Japan's Defense White Paper, regarding China's military activities, it cites incidents including intermittent radar illumination of Self-Defense Forces aircraft by Chinese fighter jets last December and intensified Chinese carrier operations in the Pacific Ocean, the NHK reported on Wednesday.

The outline labels such military activities "a grave concern" for Japan and the international community and "an unprecedented top strategic challenge," using wording nearly identical to that in the 2025 White Paper, the Japanese media outlet said in the report.

Claiming China's intensifying military operations near Japanese territories, the outline frames the issue as one to be countered by comprehensive national strength plus cooperation and coordination with allies and like-minded partners, the Asahi Shimbun reported on Wednesday.

The full Defense White Paper is expected to be submitted to Japan's Cabinet for review this summer, according to NHK.

Japan habitually shifts blame on security issues since worsening China-Japan relations stem entirely from rampant domestic neo-militarist sentiments in Japan. Still, Tokyo pretends to be an innocent victim to mislead international opinion and rebrand itself from a troublemaking provocateur into an aggrieved party. It is a well-worn trick to build public opinion and prepare for more provocations against China down the line, Lü Chao, an expert at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Hype over the so-called China threat works as a pretext for Japan to expand its military and roll out risky military initiatives, Lü said, noting that every unfounded allegation it levels at China is crafted to justify its own militaristic expansion.

According to NHK, the outline of the paper also creates a new section dedicated to "new forms of warfare," citing the extensive deployment of low-cost drones and protracted combat seen on Ukraine's battlefields. Building on that, the outline underscores the importance of preparing for emerging warfare leveraging AI and drones, securing sustained combat capacity for potential prolonged war, and bolstering defense industrial and technological foundations.

Neo-militarism in Japan has gained alarming momentum, with Tokyo's top priority being to shake off post-war legal shackles on its military, Lü said. "The worrying trend sends a stark warning to the whole world that Japan is marching toward militarism revival. Its massive push for drones and other military equipment far exceeds genuine self-defense needs. This outright military expansion aims to grow Japan's regional leverage and clear the path for a militaristic comeback," the expert said.

In response to previous media disclosures of the draft of the Sanae Takaichi administration's first Defense White Paper reveal that it frames China's activities in the Pacific as a "security threat" and expresses vigilance, Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said on May 28 that what Japan does contradicts what it says. The more it tries to whitewash the inconsistency, the more obvious it gets. In recent years, the Japanese government has sharply hiked its defense budget, developed and deployed offensive weapons, eased restrictions on exporting lethal weapons, pushed to revise the pacifist Constitution, clamored to be a war-capable nation, and even touted abandoning the three non-nuclear principles. 

"If these actions still qualify as 'exclusively defense-oriented', then there would be no such word as offensive in dictionary," Jiang said.

Japanese militarism once brought catastrophic disasters to the world and to Japan itself. Now the gray rhino of a remilitarized Japan is gathering speed, causing inevitable concerns and alarming many countries. The international community must see through Japan's "deceptive diplomacy" and "victim portrait", and work together to contain Japan's neo-militarism and safeguard peace and stability in the region and beyond, Jiang told a press conference.