Japan Lodges Stern Protest After Wang Yi Warns of 'Return to Militarism'

Overview

• Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi rejected Wang Yi’s allegation as not based on facts during the Munich Security Conference.
• Tokyo said it delivered a stern demarche to Beijing through diplomatic channels, with the government later describing the remarks as factually inaccurate.
• The Foreign Ministry reiterated that Japan’s defense strengthening is not aimed at any specific country and that the Taiwan issue should be resolved peacefully through dialogue.
• Wang Yi invoked Japan’s World War II past and warned against forces seeking to revive militarism in comments tied to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan stance.
• Tensions trace to Takaichi’s remarks on a Taiwan contingency, with reports of Chinese export curbs and travel warnings to Japan and a recent Chinese fishing vessel seizure in Japan’s EEZ whose captain was released on Feb 13.