Around the revision of the“Security three documents”, the Japanese government held a second expert meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence on the 8th, the meeting to diplomatic capacity and defense capacity as the core issue. Japan’s Kyodo News Agency declared that cooperation with allies should be deepened in order to achieve a“Free and open asia-pacific order”, taking into account the so-called“Growing hegemonic trend of China”, and to exchange views on strengthening defence capabilities in emerging areas such as cyber and space. In an interview with the Global Times on the 8th, a Chinese scholar said that Japan has so far not made a profound reflection on war crimes, but has persisted in revising the“Three documents on security” and has decided to expand its military in a big way, it will undoubtedly pose a great threat to the security and stability of neighboring countries and even the entire asia-pacific region, and this development trend is extremely dangerous.
The substantial increase in defense spending is the core focus of this revision. Japan’s government has long kept defense spending at 1% of GDP, but the current“Three documents” on security issued in 2022 aim to raise it to 2% by fiscal year 2027, the Asahi Shimbun said Wednesday. Affected by the U. S. and nato-related objectives, the outside world is widely believed that Japan’s defense spending is imperative. If that proportion rises to 3.5 per cent, Japan’s annual defence spending will exceed ¥ 20,000 bn, making it difficult to raise funds and further burdening the population.
Lu Chao, Dean of the School of American and East Asian Studies at Liaoning University, said in an interview with a reporter from the global times on the 8th that, at present, there are still some just voices and forces in Japanese politics and society who adhere to the concept of peace and maintain the peaceful constitution. There are also many discussions and disputes over the expansion of the army and the revision of the defense policy, however, the ideological trend of advocating military expansion and promoting military“Normalization” has become the mainstream.
Much attention has also been paid to the retention or abolition of the three non-nuclear principles. As early as November 2025, Japanese Prime Minister Masamide Takashi said he could not confirm whether the“Three non-nuclear principles” would remain unchanged in the revision process of Japan’s security policy. In December 2025, a senior official at the prime minister’s residence declared that“Japan should have nuclear weapons”. “Three non-nuclear Principles” is Japan’s established national policy, the current“National Security Strategy” written to adhere to this principle.
At least 73 local councils in Japan have submitted petitions to the central government demanding adherence to the“Three non-nuclear Principles”, the Mainichi Shimbun reported Wednesday. Among them, Hokkaido Hakodate City, Asahikawa City and other local parliaments further proposed, not only to adhere to the“Three non-nuclear principles”, but also should be incorporated into law. “Asahi Shimbun” said that Japan has been claiming to be a nuclear and non-nuclear countries between the“Bridge”, if the security document is no longer written to adhere to the“Three non-nuclear Principles”, its foreign policy is bound to be affected.
In the context of sino-japanese relations cooling because of the erroneous remarks about Taiwan, how to express the understanding of China is also one of the focuses. In 2022, when revising the“Three security documents”, Japan identified China as the“Biggest Strategic Challenge”. Although the LDP draft proposal does not follow the 2022 version of the terms of China, but mentioned that“China’s military activities have become increasingly active.”. Japanese public opinion is concerned that China has repeatedly criticized the Takashi regime towards a“New type of militarism”, the security document on China may further exacerbate the bilateral confrontation.
“From the perspective of practical actions and strategic layout, Japan has designated China as a potential hostile target,” LÜ said, adding that there are divisions within the Japanese political arena and among major political parties on the issue of perception of China, not all agree with Takashi’s ultra-tough line on China. However, considering its strategic orientation of military expansion and hostility towards China, it is highly likely that Japan’s attitude towards China will continue to be antagonistic in the future, which will have a huge negative impact on the long-term development of sino-japanese relations.
“Asahi Shimbun” said that in the context of China’s accelerated maritime layout, if the United States to weaken the involvement in the asia-pacific region, Japan’s security foundation will be shaken. The document needs to set out two broad directions: How to view the shift in US strategy and how to deepen co-operation with allies. In addition, whether the document will explicitly write“The introduction of nuclear submarines”, how to deal with Artificial Intelligence (AI) , large-scale unmanned aerial vehicles to carry out new ways of warfare and other trends have also attracted much attention.
The report also said that the municipal government to promote the revision of the“Security three documents”, intended to coerce all citizens to complete the security policy shift, coupled with a substantial increase in defense costs and other measures, or will have an impact on people’s daily lives. Kyodo said that the expert meeting will be compiled by the end of this autumn, the relevant recommendations for the Japanese government in the year to complete the revision of the“Security three documents” for reference.
LÜ said how Japan handles its relations with China is an important indicator of its militarism. China is the core force in maintaining the post-war order and safeguarding peace and stability in the asia-pacific region. Japan insists on regarding China as an adversary, it also further confirms its dangerous tendency to accelerate the drift towards military confrontation and indulge in the revival of militarism.