BEIJING - North Korea and China began criticizing Japan in January using the same term, accusing the country of pursuing "neo-militarism," according to their media reports, as Beijing seeks to gain international support for its stance toward Tokyo amid a diplomatic row.
On Jan. 11, the Rodong Sinmun, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, referred to "neo-militarism" in Japan in its commentary to rap Tokyo's plan to revise its three security documents including the national security strategy later this year.
Pyongyang has repeatedly used this term in denouncing Tokyo since then.
The Rodong Sinmun article came two days after the People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of China's ruling Communist Party, published a commentary on global affairs under the headline "'Neo-militarism' will once again lead Japan toward abyss."
Experts on Chinese affairs have suggested this was probably the first time the commentary under the pen name "Zhong Sheng," which is believed to reflect the thinking of the Communist Party leadership, used the term "neo-militarism."
During his visit to Pyongyang earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed opposition to attempts to "revive militarism" at a welcome banquet hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with his remarks believed to target Japan.
Beijing has recently stepped up its criticism of Tokyo's defense buildup policies advocated by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi amid the diplomatic feud over her parliamentary comments on Taiwan last November.
Takaichi said an attack by mainland China on the self-ruled democratic island it claims could prompt a response by the Japan Self-Defense Forces in support of the United States.
In addition to North Korea, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and Myanmar have expressed their opposition to "militarism" during recent summits or other high-level meetings with China. The five countries are friendly to Beijing.
China also claimed in a white paper on its diplomatic policy released on Wednesday that "militarism has resurfaced" and poses a "grave threat," leaving international security in a precarious state, in a veiled criticism of Japan's defense buildup policies.
Japan recently explained its stance on defense issues to Pakistan after a joint statement released following talks between Xi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in late May said they oppose "any attempts by fascism or militarism to make a comeback," according to diplomatic sources.
In his speech to a regional security forum in Singapore in late May, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi rejected China's claim that defense buildup by Tokyo represents a "new militarism."
Koizumi said Japan's reputation as a peace-loving nation, built since the end of World War II, would not be undermined by what he called false claims.
"There is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers. Japan has neither of such weapons. And yet, Japan is labeled 'new militarism.' Isn't it strange?" he said in an apparent reference to China.
