Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjiro said dispatching its soldiers to the mission would strengthen Japan’s defence capabilities.
Reacting to comments by Koizumi during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend, Lin said Japanese militarists “committed horrendous crimes in World War II and inflicted untold sufferings on their Asian neighbours and Allied nations.”
Japan’s defence minister took a veiled swipe at China on Sunday, pledging to keep strengthening the military. Although Koizumi did not name China, he said there “is a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers. Japan has neither of these weapons, and yet Japan is labelled neo-militarist.”
To this, Lin said: “Japan’s latest defence budget has exceeded 9 trillion yen, hitting a record high for 14 consecutive years since WWII. Its defence spending per capita has reached three times that of China, and total defence expenditure has surged to 2% of GDP with plans to further go up to 3.5 percent.”
“The remarks from the Japanese official (Koizumi Shinjiro)… have no basis at all. They have zero authority in the face of history, law, facts, and figures. No way making such remarks will help Japan earn the trust of its Asian neighbours and the international community,” Lin added.
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