On Nov. 6 China's Defense Ministry responded to reports that Japan plans to list
a 'virtuous cycle between defense and the economy' as a key pillar in this
year's revised security documents and to treat the defense industry as an
industrial-policy priority with the Defense Ministry involved in its
development. Spokesman Chen Xi said this is a 'military‑industry‑driven national
development' strategy that accelerates Japan's re-militarization, revives a
pre‑war military‑industrial complex that was deeply embedded in the economy and
drove expansion, and shows Japan's right wing has discarded the 'exclusive
defense' guise. He warned the shift will accelerate societal 'war preparedness'
and economic 'militarization', pose systemic risks to Japanese welfare and
global peace and stability, and urged the international community to be highly
vigilant and to resolutely prevent Japan from restarting its 'war machine' and
returning to expansionism.
