Japan’s Ruling Camp Clings to Militarist Path with Yasukuni Tributes

Summary

On August 15, the 81st anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offered a tamagushi ritual fee to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours 14 Class-A war criminals of World War II. She performed the distant worship in her capacity as president of the Liberal Democratic Party. In her address at the National Memorial Ceremony for the War Dead, she made no mention of reflection on the war of aggression, and deliberately changed the phrase 'never repeat the horrors of war' to 'never let the horrors of war be repeated', a move criticised as blurring the subject of responsibility.

Several cabinet ministers, including Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, also visited the shrine that day, marking the seventh consecutive year of such visits by incumbent ministers on August 15. LDP Secretary-General Shunichi Suzuki, many senior party officials and a large number of lawmakers also paid visits. Analysts said the ruling authorities continue to push military expansion, advocate right-wing historical views and 'peripheral threats', with 'new militarism' characteristics becoming prominent.

Since taking office, Ms Takaichi has accelerated military expansion: she has plotted to revise the 'Three Non-Nuclear Principles' and the pacifist constitution, and established a National Intelligence Agency; for the first time, deployed long-range missiles domestically, test-fired Tomahawk cruise missiles, and sent a large-scale combat unit to the Philippines for joint exercises; through the supplementary budget for fiscal year 2025, she achieved the target of defence spending accounting for 2% of GDP two years ahead of schedule, and the defence budget for fiscal year 2026 reached a record high; in April this year, she lifted the ban on exports of lethal weapons, and advocated the development of the military industry in the 2026 edition of the Defence White Paper.

Commentary

The Japanese ruling authorities' visits to Yasukuni Shrine on the August 15 surrender anniversary and their accelerated military expansion have a notable impact on the Asia-Pacific economic and trade landscape through their 'new-style militarism' trend. Japan is New Zealand's fourth-largest trading partner, with bilateral goods trade of approximately NZ$7.5 billion in 2025, dominated by dairy products, beef, timber and fruit. New Zealand dairy companies such as Fonterra regard Japan as a high-end market.

The government's increase in defence spending to 2% of GDP and the lifting of restrictions on lethal weapon exports mean fiscal budgets are tilted toward the military, squeezing livelihood and social expenditures. Japan's domestic consumption capacity may weaken over the long term, directly affecting New Zealand's exports of high-value-added food products to Japan. At the same time, Japan's first domestic deployment of long-range missiles, test-firing of Tomahawks and large-scale dispatch of troops for joint exercises in the Philippines have intensified risk premiums on shipping routes in the East China Sea and South China Sea.

Rising maritime insurance and detour costs will push up uncontrollable logistics expenses for New Zealand SMEs in import and export. On the other hand, the expansion of Japan's military industry generates import demand for precision components and raw materials, but New Zealand's manufacturing sector is limited in scale, offering smaller direct business opportunities. More alarmingly, Japan's politicisation of security issues within the CPTPP framework may undermine the stability of multilateral trade rules, compounded by chain reactions of Sino-Japanese tensions on regional supply chains.

Japan's initial defence budget for fiscal year 2026 has reached a new high, while social security spending growth has stalled—a structural contradiction that will suppress long-term demand in the Japanese market. New Zealand exporters should be prepared for potential headwinds.

Keywords: Japan, Yasukuni Shrine, militarism, Takaichi Sanae, military expansion, defense spending, peace constitution, historical reflection, Class-A war criminals, peripheral threats

Source: Xinhua Daily Press Network