How Japan seeks to win over allies by rebutting China over military spending

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi’s pushback against China signals a calculated bid to fend off accusations of Tokyo’s “new militarism” by Beijing to ensure that the label does not stick and slow Japan’s security reforms.

His comments in recent weeks on separate instances are aimed at shaping the perceptions of Tokyo’s state partners, according to analysts.

Speaking in his first published interview with foreign media as defence chief on June 17, Koizumi questioned the accuracy of China’s official military spending figures.

Drawing a contrast with China, Koizumi said Japan would take a transparent approach to investing in new methods of warfare, such as drones and artificial intelligence, which were needed to keep up with the changing nature of conflict.

“Our budgets undergo scrutiny and deliberation in parliament,” Koizumi said, questioning if the figures by China were “genuinely grounded in fact, backed by evidence, and highly transparent”.

“When doubts arise on those points, how much effort do they put into explaining them?” Koizumi argued.