CHINA expressed shock over the claims from a senior Japanese official that Japan should possess nuclear weapons, as well as claims from Japan’s defense minister that Japan should discuss all options without excluding any when reviewing its Three Non-Nuclear Principles.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian urged Japan on December 22, 2025 to stop provocative moves on nuclear weapons, while calling on the international community to stay highly vigilant and oppose Japan’s dangerous tendency on the issue.
As a non-nuclear weapon party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Japan must fully abide by the provisions of “not receiving, manufacturing, acquiring or transferring nuclear weapons,” Lin said.
These are nonnegotiable obligations under international law that Japan must fulfill, and they should not be used as bargaining chips for political gains, he added.
The remarks made by Japan also severely threaten regional and international peace and stability, and run counter to Japan’s commitment to “peaceful development,” Lin said, stressing that the suggestion that the remarks were based on “personal views” is not convincing.
He urged Tokyo to abide by international law and its own Constitution, refrain from attempting to challenge the postwar international order, and stop plunging further down the wrong path.
Also at the news conference on the same date, Lin said that China had protested to Japan regarding the visit by a high-ranking official of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party to China’s Taiwan region.
China firmly opposes the visit, which violates the one-China principle, the four political documents between China and Japan and Japan’s own commitments made to China.
He again urged the Japanese side to reflect on and correct its wrongdoings, retract Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s erroneous remarks, and not to interfere in China’s internal affairs.
The Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan will not succeed in seeking “Taiwan independence” by ingratiating themselves with Japan, he said, adding that their disgraceful acts will only lead to a dead end.
Earlier at a regular news briefing in Beijing on December 17, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun urged certain individuals in Japan to stop peddling false narratives, retract erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question, and provide a responsible explanation to China and the international community.
His remarks were made in response to reports that Keiichi Ichikawa, head of Japan’s National Security Secretariat, recently held talks with officials of the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Canada to articulate Japan’s position on Takaichi’s comments on Taiwan and rebut China’s response to the comments.
Ichikawa said that Takaichi’s remarks had not altered Japan’s long-standing policy on Taiwan. Some individuals in Japan also asserted that the country is “peace-loving” and that China’s criticism is “inconsistent with the facts.” Guo said that Japan’s actions have once again exposed how some people in the country knowingly distort facts, refuse to correct their wrongdoings, and attempt to portray themselves as victims to solicit sympathy from the international community.
Right-wing forces in Japan have a long record of spreading false narratives, portraying wars of aggression against Asian neighbors as “the liberation of Asia,” downplaying the appalling Nanjing Massacre as “the Nanjing incident,” whitewashing the notorious Unit 731 as a “public health research unit,” and dismissing forced labor and “comfort women” as “voluntary acts,” Guo noted.
After World War 2, Japan constructed a narrative of itself as a victim of war while deliberately avoiding the mention of militarism as the source of warfare, he said.
Japan claims to uphold an “exclusively defense-oriented” principle and a “passive” defense strategy, but has repeatedly eased restrictions on the exercise of collective self-defense, relaxed limits on arms exports, and even sought to revise its three nonnuclear principles, he added.
Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan have not only triggered strong public outrage in China, but have also drawn opposition and criticism within Japan and from many other countries, Guo pointed out.
One-China principle upheld in the region Responding to a question on why representatives of the Chinese Foreign Ministry met with ambassadors from Southeast Asian countries following Takaichi’s remarks, Guo said the ministry maintains normal working relations with diplomatic missions in China.
The one-China principle is a widely recognized basic norm governing international relations and represents a broad consensus of the international community, including Southeast Asian countries, he added.
Guo said that Takaichi’s erroneous remarks on Taiwan seriously violate international law and the basic norms governing international relations, openly challenge the outcomes of World War 2 victory and international justice, and have raised a high alert among countries and peoples in the region about the dangerous trend of reviving Japanese militarism.
Many countries in the region have recently reiterated their commitment to the one-China principle, underscored the need to remain vigilant against and resist any resurgence of militarism, Guo said, urging Japan to correct its wrongdoings through serious reflection and cease creating confusion and discord.
‘Japan must do deep soul-searching in regard to World War 2 crimes, the Taiwan question’ Meanwhile, China’s ambassador to the United Nations called on Japan to “retract its erroneous remarks” in regard to Taiwan and its role in colonizing countries around Asia in World War 2.
“As a defeated country in World War 2, Japan must do deep soul-searching regarding its historical crimes, abide by the political commitments it made on the Taiwan question, immediately stop provocative actions that cross the line, and retract its erroneous remarks,” Ambassador Fu Cong said on December 16 at the UN General Assembly to commemorate the first international day against colonialism.
“The International Day Against Colonialism in All Its Forms and Manifestations aims to urge the international community to remember the harm of colonialism, accelerate the ongoing decolonization process, and end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations,” Fu said.
|”The history of World War 2 teaches us that peace needs to be safeguarded,” Fu said.
“At present, despite the end of colonial occupation and the collapse of the colonial system, the world has yet to emerge from the shadow of colonialism. Hegemonism, unilateralism and power politics, as legacies of colonialism, remain rampant,” Fu continued.
“The international community needs to resist the colonial mentality in ideological, political, economic, cultural and educational domains, eradicate the remnants of colonialism, uphold international fairness and justice, and promote greater democracy and rule of law in international relations.” “Japan invaded China, the Korean Peninsula and Southeast Asia, and imposed horrendous colonial rule. Japanese aggressors committed innumerable crimes and atrocities in Taiwan, killing over 650,000 Taiwan compatriots, forcibly recruiting around 200,000 young people to serve in the military, forcing more than 2,000 Taiwan women to become “comfort women,” occupying 70 percent of Taiwan’s land, and destructively exploiting natural resources, including coal and gold mines. It was the darkest page in Taiwan’s history,” Fu said at the UN General Assembly.
Japan has significantly increased its military budget, with spending estimated to exceed $69 billion this year, a 9.4 percent jump from 2024. Its boosted military spending over the next few years is expected to be allocated toward long-range missiles – including those launched from ships and submarines – and the development of a satellite network. It is also strengthening joint exercises with countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
A significantly rearmed Japan could threaten the international balance in the Asia Pacific.
“We must resolutely defend the victorious outcomes of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and resolutely defend the post-war international order,” Fu said.
“What Japan should do is listen to these voices and engage in soul-searching, instead of making futile attempts to persuade other countries into believing its groundless explanations,” the Chinese officials pointed out.