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

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.