China Slams Japan’s New Defense White Paper

China’s Ministry of National Defense has issued a blistering rebuke of Japan’s newly released defense white paper, accusing Tokyo of hyping a so-called “China threat” to justify its own military expansion. Spokesperson Chen Xi described the document as “filled with false narratives” and characterized Japan’s actions as “a thief crying ‘stop thief’” in remarks reported by Xinhua.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in a deteriorating China-Japan relationship, coming just days after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s government approved the roughly 600-page “Defense of Japan 2026” on August 4. The white paper, the first issued under Takaichi’s administration, describes China’s military developments as “an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge” to Japan, language first adopted in Tokyo’s revised National Security Strategy in 2022.

A Document Bearing Takaichi’s Stamp

The white paper, presented to the Cabinet by Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, introduces several notable structural changes that analysts say reflect the hawkish priorities of Takaichi’s government. For the first time, it includes a standalone chapter on “new ways of warfare,” drawing lessons from the Russia-Ukraine conflict and advocating expanded use of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence. It also significantly expands coverage of Japan’s defense production and technological base, arguing that the defense industry can “drive economic growth.”

Chen Yang, a visiting research fellow at the Institute of Japan Studies under China’s Liaoning University, told Xinhua that the document carries a strong “Takaichi imprint” as the first defense white paper issued under her administration, with contents “highly consistent with the military expansion policies promoted since she took office.”

The white paper outlines an accelerated military buildup that includes longer-range missiles, counterstrike capabilities, and closer cooperation between the military and private technology companies. In March, Japan deployed its land-based Type 25 anti-ship missile in Kumamoto Prefecture with an upgraded 1,000-kilometer range that far exceeds territorial defense requirements. In April, Tokyo fully lifted restrictions on the export of lethal weapons.

China’s Sharp Response

Chen Xi, responding to media queries on the day of the white paper’s release, did not mince words. “Japan’s new defense white paper is filled with false narratives, deliberately hypes a so-called ‘peripheral security crisis,’ and plays up the so-called ‘China threat,’” he said, according to CGTN. “This is completely a case of a thief crying ‘stop thief’ — an excuse for Japan to loosen constraints on its military expansion.”

Chen warned that Japan’s “new militarism” has become increasingly entrenched and poses “a serious challenge to the postwar international order, as well as a genuine threat to regional peace and stability.” He accused Tokyo of continuing to “play up the banner of ‘exclusively defense-oriented policy’” while accelerating revisions to its three key security documents, increasing defense spending, and developing long-range offensive capabilities.

On the Taiwan question, Chen was unequivocal: “The Taiwan question concerns China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and constitutes the political foundation of China-Japan relations. It is a red line that must not be crossed.” He urged Japan to “earnestly reflect on its history of aggression, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs, and refrain from going further down the wrong path of remilitarization.”

Expert Analysis: A Dangerous Trajectory

The white paper’s softer presentation — featuring a manga-style cover showing young people in a futuristic city without visible weapons — has drawn criticism from analysts who see it as an attempt to make military expansion more palatable to the public. Liu Jiangyong, a professor at Tsinghua University, described the cover as a form of “political makeup” designed to “dilute the provocative and potentially dangerous nature” of Japan’s policies, as reported by Global Times.

Japanese critics have voiced similar concerns. Makoto Ito, director of the Japan Institute of Constitutional Law, told China Daily that Japan’s security and defense policies in recent years have “deviated from its pacifist Constitution,” yet these policies “continue to be advanced and are communicated to the public through official documents such as the defense white paper.”

Kumiko Haba, a distinguished professor at Josai International University in Tokyo, went further, warning that the Takaichi administration “is moving in an extremely dangerous direction” and that Japan is “seeking to align itself with the US agenda by abandoning its identity as a peace-oriented country and moving toward participation in war.”

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military affairs expert, pushed back against the white paper’s characterization of China’s military development. “China’s military modernization is intended to protect its national security after the country suffered aggression and humiliation from foreign powers, including the grave harm caused by Japanese militarism,” he told the Global Times. “Japan is in no position to lecture China about its defense development.”

Regional Repercussions

The white paper’s release has also drawn protests from South Korea, which on the same day objected to Japan’s continued territorial claims to the Dokdo/Takeshima islets — claims that have been included in the defense white paper for the 22nd consecutive year. Seoul’s foreign ministry stated that the claims constitute “unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, which is clearly an integral part of the South Korean territory historically, geographically and under international law,” according to Xinhua.

The white paper also highlights growing military coordination between China, Russia, and North Korea as heightening security risks for Japan. The Associated Press reported that the document expresses alarm over Chinese warship activity in the Pacific and describes North Korea’s missile development as an “increasingly serious and pressing threat.”

The tensions come against a backdrop of deteriorating bilateral relations since Takaichi took office in October 2025. Her November remarks suggesting that Chinese military action against Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan — a legal trigger for the use of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces — marked a significant departure from Japan’s traditional strategic ambiguity on Taiwan and triggered a diplomatic firestorm with Beijing, as BBC News has documented.

What’s Next

Japan plans to revise its three key security documents before the end of 2026, a process that analysts expect to further accelerate the country’s military transformation. The white paper offers clues about the priorities Tokyo is likely to pursue over the next five to ten years, including expanded counterstrike capabilities, deeper integration of civilian technology into defense, and a more assertive posture in the Pacific.

For China, the response has been consistent: any Japanese interference in the Taiwan question or attempts to frame China’s military development as a threat will be met with firm opposition. As Chen Xi warned, Japan should not “go further down the wrong path of remilitarization.”

The question now is whether the planned revision of Japan’s security documents will further escalate tensions, and how the broader Indo-Pacific security architecture will respond to Japan’s accelerating military buildup. With both countries locked in a cycle of mutual accusation and military expansion, the region’s security landscape appears set to become increasingly volatile.