By Yan Yu
严瑜
The Japan-US summit will be held in Washington DC in mid-January. This will be the first meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden at the White House since the former took the office. Japanese media expects that Fumio Kishida will explain to the US the revision of three security documents including the National Security Strategy (NSS), National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Defense Buildup Program (DBP) and the substantial increase in defense spending, with a view to further deepening the Japan-US alliance. The purpose of this move is self-evident: Japan aims to tie itself closer to the US chariot and pave the way for reviving its dream of becoming a major military power.
1月中旬，日美首脑会谈将在华盛顿举行。这将是岸田文雄就任日本首相后，首次在白宫与美国总统拜登会谈。日媒预计，岸田文雄将就日本《国家安全保障战略》《国家防卫战略》《防卫力量整备计划》等3份安保文件的修订及大幅增加防卫费向美方进行说明，进一步深化日美同盟关系。这一举动的目的不言自明，那就是将日本进一步绑上美国“战车”，并为复活日本“军事大国梦”做更多铺垫。
In December 2022, the Japanese government passed three security documents including the new NSS, and clearly stated that it will build a "counterstrike capability (capability to attack enemy bases)" and deploy the US-made Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles in 2026. At the same time, these documents propose to increase the total defense expenditure for five years from 2023 by about 43 trillion yen, which is 1.6 times the total defense expenditure for the current five years (2019 to 2023). Japan also plans to increase the ratio of defense spending and related budgets to Japan's gross domestic product (GDP) from about one percent to about two percent by 2027.
2022年12月，日本政府内阁会议通过新版《国家安全保障战略》等3份安保文件，明确写入将打造“反击能力（攻击敌方基地能力）”，并计划在2026年度部署美制“战斧”远程巡航导弹。同时，文件提出将2023年起的5年防卫费总额增加约43万亿日元，是现行5年（2019年至2023年）防卫费总额的1.6倍。日本还计划到2027年，将防卫费及相关预算占日本国内生产总值（GDP）的比例由现在的约1%提高至2%左右。
According to the revised documents, Japan will abandon the self-defense-only postwar principle and will break through many post-war restrictions. For instance, it may further relax the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology, expand arms exports, and deepen military-civilian integration. This immediately aroused the international community's concern about Japan repeating its mistakes and following the path of military power. As the Japanese anti-war peace organization Peace Vision Conference said in a statement, the three documents will make Japan a country capable of waging war again, which is an extremely dangerous move.
根据修订后的文件，日本将实际上放弃战后奉行的“专守防卫”原则，并将突破诸多战后禁忌，如进一步放宽“防卫装备转移三原则”，扩大武器对外出口、深化军民一体化等。这立刻引起国际社会对日本重蹈覆辙走军事大国路线的深重担忧。如日本反战和平组织“和平构想建言会议”发表声明所言，3份文件将使日本再次成为能发动战争的国家，是极其危险之举。
However, regardless of opposition at home and abroad, the Japanese government continued to gallop on the wrong path instead of coming to a halt. Japan claimed that this was a new beginning of the Japan-US alliance and that it would further strengthen military cooperation with the US. For all kinds of actions to show goodwill to the US by "arming itself", the Fumio government's ostensible reason is that it is worried about being "abandoned by the US" in the event of an emergency so it increased its defense to get more help from the US. However, its real purpose is to break the restrictions of the pacifist constitution, rely on the US for self-improvement and expand its military and prepare for war.
然而，面对国内外一片反对之声，日本政府非但没有悬崖勒马，反而在歧途上一路狂奔，宣称这是日美同盟的新开始，将进一步加强与美国的军事协作。对于种种通过“武装自己”来示好美国的举动，岸田文雄政府明面上的理由是担忧出现突发事态时“遭美国抛弃”，因此以宣称增强防卫力的方式来得到美国更多帮助，真实目的却是一步步打破和平宪法限制，倚美自强、扩军备战。
The US is happy to see the moves by Japan. The White House, the State Department and the Pentagon issued statements one after another to welcome the three security documents released by the Japanese government. However, the approval rate of Fumio Kishida's cabinet hit a new low at only 25 percent after the revision of the security documents. It is obvious that Japan's role in the US regional strategy will gradually shift from supporting the defense as a shield to serving as a spear after the revision of its security documents. This means that Japan will be further included in the strategic orbit of the US, and the possibility of Japan and the US joining hands to cause trouble in the region will continue to rise, which will undoubtedly bring serious security risks to Japan's neighboring countries and even the international community. Some Japanese scholars sharply pointed out that the three security documents represent a major turning point in Japan's defense policy that is shifting towards new militarism.
对于日本的“投怀送抱”，美国乐见其成。美国白宫、国务院与五角大楼相继发表声明，欢迎日本政府公布的3份安保文件。但在日本国内，安保文件修订后，岸田文雄内阁支持率创下新低，仅为25%。明眼人都非常清楚，安保政策调整后，对美国地区战略而言，日本的作用将从过去的后方支持防御，即所谓“盾”，逐步发展成兼具“矛”的功用。这意味着，未来日本将进一步被纳入美国战略轨道，日美在地区内联手滋事的可能性不断增加。这无疑给日本周边国家乃至国际社会带来严重安全隐患。有日本学者犀利指出，3份安保文件意味着日本防卫政策大转折，是一种“新军国主义”。
Historically, Japan has stepped into the wrong path of militarism, committed atrocities of aggression, expansion, and crimes against humanity, and brought serious disasters to Asia and the world. Now Japan is tying itself tightly to the US chariot, constantly seeking offensive capabilities and trying to break through the constraints of the pacifist Constitution, which will pose a major threat to world peace.
历史上，日本曾步入军国主义歧途，犯下侵略扩张和反人类罪行，给亚洲和世界带来深重灾难。日本把自己紧绑上美国“战车”，不断谋求进攻能力，试图冲破和平宪法约束，是对世界和平的重大威胁。
Editor's note: Originally published on paper.people.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
