Japan Says Beijing Claims Distorted Tokyo’s Defense Policy

(MENAFN) Japan has formally refuted Chinese accusations at the United Nations, asserting that Beijing distorted Tokyo's defense stance with claims "inconsistent with the facts," according to Japan's top diplomat to the global organization.

In correspondence delivered Monday to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki emphasized that Japan has steadfastly advanced international peace and prosperity since World War II's conclusion.

"Japan has always respected and adhered to international law, including the UN Charter, and has actively contributed to maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order underpinned by the rule of law in the global community," Yamazaki wrote.

The ambassador underscored that Japan's military doctrine remains strictly defensive and reactive in nature.

"Japan's fundamental defense policy is a posture of passive defense, which is exclusively defense-oriented, contrary to the Chinese side's claims. Japan also defines, through domestic law, situations in which the right of collective self-defense recognized under the UN Charter can be exercised in a highly restrictive manner," he stated.

Yamazaki further noted that recent statements by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi mirror this enduring defensive philosophy, characterizing China's assertion that Japan would invoke self-defense absent an armed assault as "erroneous."

Tokyo also condemned Beijing for suspending bilateral dialogue and wielding economic coercion, including embargoes on Japanese seafood exports, branding such measures unacceptable. Japan pledged to maintain "calm diplomacy" while resolving persistent disputes with China.

China's Permanent Representative to the UN, Fu Cong, had written to Guterres on Friday, denouncing Takaichi's recent remarks regarding Taiwan as "provocative." He contended that Japan had, for the first time, telegraphed intentions to intervene militarily in the Taiwan matter and issued what he termed a "threat of force" toward China.

Takaichi, who assumed office last month, declared any Chinese assault on Taiwan could represent a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan under existing security laws, potentially authorizing the nation to "exercise the right of collective self-defense."

Her comments provoked fierce backlash from Beijing and coincided with reports that hundreds of thousands of Chinese travelers canceled Japan-bound trips. Tokyo reported that Beijing simultaneously enacted a prohibition on Japanese seafood imports.

Beijing subsequently postponed a trilateral cultural ministers' summit with South Korea and Japan—a cancellation Tokyo publicly condemned.

MENAFN27112025000045017169ID1110405960