It has been long known to the whole world that Japan, after having experienced the bitter taste of total defeat in the World War II, has since been persistently pursuing the decades of military build-up, without giving up for a moment its revanchist ambition.

In recent days, however, the level of its danger exceeds the limit, reaching the point of being able to seriously wreck the peace and stability of the region. This is now alarming many countries.

At a plenary of the House of Councilors of Japan on April 17, a Revised Defense Ministry Establishment Act was voted into a law, which contains reorganizational contents including a new set-up of “Space Operation Forces” within the Air “Self-Defense Forces.”

Japan has long accelerated the preparations for transforming the Air “Self-Defense Forces” into “Aerospace Self-Defense Forces” and organizing a separate “Space Operation Forces.” Since its legal framework was provided for, 20 strong “Space Operation Forces” have been made to be operational within this year.

It also decided to increase the staff of “Cyber Defense Forces” organized by the current authorities from 220 to 290, and to organize a unit for deploying the large-scale unmanned spy drone “Global Hawk” in Misawa base.

What cannot be overlooked is the fact that the Defense Ministry recently announced a plan to manufacture and deploy a ultra-supersonic missile with a flying capacity of Mach 5 by 2026, which can strike any place on the earth and disable missile defense systems, and to update the missile in 2028 so that it can attack a moving aircraft carrier, and it already started a full-scale implementation of the plan.

Even a child will be fully aware that such weapons are not meant for “defence” purposes.

Japan is now attempting to load warheads capable of piercing through a flight deck of an aircraft carrier onto these missiles which can also strike a ground target. In this regard, even experts from the neighboring countries point out that if Japan succeeds in developing an ultra-supersonic missile, it would pose a serious threat to the Chinese naval activities.

All the above developments present striking evidence that the “Self-Defence Forces” have completely thrown off their veneer of “exclusive defence” in terms of scale, content and operating perimeter and converted themselves completely into offensive forces.

In the last century, Japan occupied the Korea by force of arms and committed the unheard-of inhumane crimes. It also carried out the aggression war under the signboard of “Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere,” thus inflicting indelible wounds on the Korean people and the peoples of Asia-Pacific region.

At this historical point of 75 years since the Japanese defeat, the world people are following with full keen eyes the Japanese moves of being hell-bent on instilling the militarist view on history in its people, revising its constitution and increasing its armed forces, far from reflecting on and apologizing for its past crimes before the humankind.

I am asking if restoring the past is reflecting a true appearance of Japan which has entered into an era of “Reiwa” interpreted as “beautiful harmony.”

Japan should be well advised to engrave on its mind the lessons of the history and behave with discretion for its own good future.

Pak Hak Song, Researcher, Institute for Studies of Japan, DPRK