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Chinese FM warns Japan is going further down the path of military expansion over plan to restore use term of military rank from Imperial Japanese Army

Global Times

By Global Times Published: Nov 18, 2025 04:16 PM

Addressing a question regarding several Japanese officials have stated Japan is planning to revise the ranks of the Self-Defense Forces and intends to restore the use of terms like "Colonel" from the Imperial Japanese Army, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning warned on Tuesday that right-wing forces in Japan are making every effort to break free from the constraints of the pacifist constitution and are going further down the path of military expansion.

The reporter who proposed the question to the spokesperson also said media comments suggest that this would break the long-standing convention of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces downplaying military connotations, and for the people of countries that suffered from Japanese colonial aggression, it would be like rubbing salt into historical wounds.

In response, Mao said that due to its history of colonization and aggression, Japan's military and security moves have always been closely watched by its Asian neighbors and the international community. The Potsdam Proclamation explicitly prohibits Japan from rearming, and Japan's pacifist constitution also establishes the principle of exclusive defense.

However, it is alarming that Japan has significantly adjusted its security policy in recent years, increasing its defense budget year-on-year, relaxing restrictions on weapons exports, seeking to develop offensive weapons, and plotting to abandon the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles." Right-wing forces in Japan are making every effort to break free from the constraints of the pacifist constitution and are going further down the path of military expansion.

Mao continued that 80 years ago, the war of aggression launched by Japanese militarism brought profound disaster to Asia and the world. Forgetting the dangers of war leads to peril, while warmongering leads to ruin. The lessons of history must not be forgotten, distorted, or erased.

Eighty years later, the Chinese spokesperson said that we must never allow the revival of Japanese militarism, never allow anyone to challenge the post-war international order, and never allow the peace and stability of the world to be undermined again.