Prime Minister Takaichi Advances Japanese Remilitarization and Constitutional Reform

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi implemented a series of security policy shifts in April 2026 aimed at expanding Japan's military and intelligence capabilities. The administration revised the three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology, effectively lifting the ban on lethal arms exports and permitting transfers to nations in active conflict. Additionally, the House of Representatives passed a bill to create a centralized national intelligence committee to manage security and foreign espionage activities.

Takaichi and more than 100 politicians made ritual offerings to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted World War II war criminals. During a Liberal Democratic Party convention on April 12, Takaichi asserted that the time has come to reform Japan's pacifist constitution, expressing a goal to present a proposal for a constitutional amendment by next year's convention.

These developments triggered large-scale protests in Tokyo, with tens of thousands demonstrating outside the National Diet Building against remilitarization. The Government of China condemned the moves, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun characterizing the rise of Japanese neo-militarism as a reality that poses real threats to the world. China further accused Japan of inciting confrontation through its interactions with NATO and reorganizing its military-industrial complex.