China warns Japan that ‘new militarism’, ‘Takaichinomics’ risk instability

People’s Daily, a mouthpiece of China’s ruling Communist Party, has warned Japan that higher military spending and what the newspaper called a looming “defence bubble” will not save an economy weakened by the falling yen and Iran war energy crisis, amid a protracted diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo.

In a Tuesday commentary published under the “Zhong Sheng” pen name – a pseudonym used to voice Beijing’s position on global affairs – the paper said the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was pursuing a “political gamble” that was “doomed to fail in resolving deep-rooted structural problems”.

“The Takaichi administration’s obsession with militaristic adventurism is by no means a cure for the Japanese economy, but a poison that will accelerate its decay,” it said.

The piece took aim at “Takaichinomics” – a neologism for the Japanese prime minister’s economic programme – often described as a mix of aggressive public spending and higher investment in defence and economic security. It said Tokyo was attempting to mask governance failures with arms spending and aggressive fiscal expansion, a strategy that some critics warn could exacerbate the country’s massive public debt.

The commentary said Japan was “under the dual squeeze” of an “oil premium” and a struggling yen, warning that the impact was rapidly spreading from the energy sector to people’s daily lives.

South China Morning Post