By Zhong Sheng, People’s Daily
Recently, Japanese vessels and aircraft have repeatedly approached the training zone of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy and disrupted the normal training activities of the Chinese side. These moves created risks to maritime and aerial security.
However, Japan has turned the tables, hyping claims that Chinese naval carrier-based aircraft “illuminated” Japan Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets with radar, deliberately mischaracterizing the Chinese military’s routine training activities as “dangerous behavior.”
Such groundless accusations, calling white black and confusing right and wrong, seek to mislead the international community, and once again expose Japan’s habitual tactics of manipulating public opinion and provoking troubles. This deserves high vigilance from the international community.
The truth of the matter is clear. The exercises and training conducted by the Chinese military in relevant waters and airspace fully complied with international law and international practice; the maneuvers are professional, standard, and beyond reproach. To activate search radar during flight training is commonly done by carrier-based aircraft of all countries and a normal measure to ensure flight safety.
It was Japanese military aircraft that intruded without authorization into China’s exercise and training areas, conducting close-in reconnaissance and interfering with China’s military activities. This seriously disrupted normal training, gravely endangering the safety of Chinese vessels and aircraft, and undermining regional peace and stability.
Instead of reflecting on its own wrongful actions, Japan has chosen to smear China, a move that is entirely ulterior in motive.
Historically, some forces in Japan have always chosen to act as “victims” to obscure their inglorious historical record and present-day provocations. During World War II, Japanese militarism repeatedly launched wars of aggression to cope with “survival-threatening situation” and “protect the safety of Japanese expatriates,” bringing profound disasters to the peoples of Asian countries.
In the post-World War II era, Japanese right-wing forces have persistently engaged in historical distortion. To garner political support, they have concealed historical truths, promoted narratives of “national pride,” and fostered extremist ideologies.
These factions propagate the false claims that Japan never launched invasions and that its wartime actions were intended to “liberate Asia.” They extensively detail the defeat of Japanese militarism by global anti-fascist forces while sensationalizing the suffering of Japanese civilians as “innocent victims.”
Deliberately evading the atrocities committed by Japanese militarism abroad, they remain silent on how Japan’s self-inflicted devastation stemmed from its aggressive warfare. By minimizing or whitewashing war crimes, these right-wing forces seek to persuade younger generations that Japan was a World War II “victim” rather than a perpetrator. This revisionist history not only misleads Japanese youth but also deeply offends neighboring Asian nations.
Recent years have witnessed an intensifying political rightward shift in Japan. Certain politicians increasingly portray Japan as a “victim” or “underdog,” accelerating efforts to overturn historical verdicts and dismantle the post-war international order. In territorial and maritime disputes with neighbors, Japan has repeatedly initiated provocations — first altering the status quo, then disseminating disinformation to portray itself as an “innocent party” compelled to respond.
Regarding China relations, some Japanese politicians have long promoted the “China threat” theory, seeking domestic support through anti-China posturing. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent move to stir up trouble on the Taiwan question serves as a typical case.
Having first violated diplomatic boundaries, Japan then obscured the core issues by professing willingness for dialogue and claiming “consistent positions,” while accusing China of “overreaction.”
The fundamental aim of Japan’s efforts to weave false narratives and manipulate public opinion is to dilute international vigilance toward its dangerous strategic trajectory, which lays bare a deep-seated strategic opportunism and adventurism.
The international community has widely noted that in just over a month since taking office, Takaichi has sent out a succession of perilous signals of military buildup and expansion: achieving the country’s target of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense two years earlier; planning missile deployments on Yonaguni Island; claiming to strengthen space combat capabilities; and scheming to revise the “Three Non-Nuclear Principles,” among others.
These developments warrant the highest alert. The danger of Japan’s attempts to manipulate public opinion will not be confined to rhetoric. What supports these attempts is the resurgence of militarism. Japan is moving ever further down the path of ramping up military buildup.
The international community, especially countries in the region, must accurately identify the real risks currently facing regional security and stability, maintain heightened vigilance toward a Japan that is actively provoking confrontation and pursuing expansion, jointly uphold international fairness and justice, and stop any attempt to undermine regional peace and stability.
(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People’s Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)
