Japan is undergoing a historic shift. It is abandoning previous decades of low key diplomacy and deflection and instead pushing back against China’s military narrative more forcefully than at any point in recent years, arguing that Beijing’s lack of transparency — not Tokyo’s defense buildup — is the real threat to regional stability. As Japan raises defense spending, expands security partnerships and eases restrictions on arms exports, China has accused it of reviving militarism. But Japanese officials counter that their policies are openly debated and publicly scrutinized, while China’s true military spending and strategic intentions remain opaque. Is Beijing’s criticism of Japan designed to shift attention away from its own unprecedented military expansion? In this episode, we examine China’s propaganda war, the debate over military transparency and what it means for security across the Indo-Pacific.
Source: Japan Challenges China’s Defense Spending as Tokyo Finally Hits Back | Taiwan Talks EP864
