Japan pushes back against accusations of ‘new militarism’ 

SINGAPORE: ‌Japanese defense minister Koizumi Shinjirō denied accusations of “new militarism” in a speech delivered ​at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier forum for defense leaders, militaries and diplomats.
“Think about it. There’s a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear ‌weapons and ‌strategic bombers. ​Japan ‌has ⁠neither ​of such weapons, ⁠and yet Japan is labelled ‘new militarism’?,” he said on Sunday, in pointed remarks aimed at China.
“Since the end of the Second World ⁠War, Japan has consistently respected ‌international law, ‌including the Charter of ​the United ‌Nations, and has made sincere ‌efforts to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order,” he added.
In May, China’s foreign ministry ‌called on Asia-Pacific countries to be vigilant and “jointly resist ⁠the ⁠reckless actions of Japan’s neo-militarism.”
Koizumi added he felt “sad” about not being able to meet his Chinese counterparts at the dialogue.
For the second year running, Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun has given the free-wheeling Singapore security meeting ​a miss, skipping ​opportunities to meet his counterparts.