Eighty-one years ago, the chariot of Japanese militarism was ultimately brought to a halt by Japan's unconditional surrender. Eighty-one years on, Japan's right-wing forces are still distorting history and pushing for military expansion, using so-called "external threats" as a pretext to keep breaking through post-war constraints and accelerating down the dead-end road of remilitarization. History has long proven that those who try to turn back the wheel of history will inevitably end up battered and disgraced. #TiantanView# #Japan# #NeoMilitarism#

Lin Jian: Reaffirming the meaning and binding force of the UN Charter’s “enemy state clauses” is essential to preventing the return of militarism. At a press conference on August 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said China supports Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks regarding Japan and Article 107 of the UN Charter, commonly referred to as the “enemy state clauses.” Lin stressed that these provisions remain an important part of the UN Charter and that reaffirming their significance is important for defending the outcome of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the global victory over fascism, while preventing militarism from returning. He also pointed to the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, and Japan’s Instrument of Surrender, which established Japan’s postwar international obligations and formed key foundations of the post-WWII international order. Lin accused the Takaichi government of avoiding reflection on Japan’s wartime history, attempting to abandon pacifism, circumvent constitutional and legal restrictions, and accelerate Japan’s remilitarization, calling this a direct challenge to the postwar international order and international peace and justice. He urged peace-loving countries around the world to oppose these moves and prevent history from repeating itself.

🇺🇸Harvard Medical School hosted a panel on “the Pathology of Unruly Bodies” where non-medical speakers, including Roxane Gay and Da’Shaun L. Harrison, argued that GLP-1 weight-loss drugs support empire and militarism by shaping ideal bodies. Harrison claimed the drugs help create “militarisable” bodies to defend an imperialist state and linked them to broader atrocities. The event drew criticism for lacking medical experts and promoting extreme ideological claims to medical students.

🇮🇹 Greta Thunberg is back on the move and this time she's taking the train to Italy. She's arrived in Naples to join activists protesting Italy's migrant repatriation detention centers. She's also taking part in discussions about Palestine and militarism at the Marea Village Festival. Damn, at this point, her calendar must be packed. Writer: Lynn

The Devil Still Dances: Dead End At the end of a misguided path lies only an abyss. Within the span of a single month, a series of development has underscored the rapid advance of Japan's “neo-militarism”: an active-duty Self-Defense Forces member forcibly intruding into the Chinese Embassy with a knife, the destroyer JS Ikazuchi transiting the Taiwan Strait, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offering ritual items to Yasukuni Shrine, and the Japanese government completing revisions to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology. Since Sanae Takaichi took office last year, from erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question, to risky military moves, and onward to efforts aimed at constitutional revision, Japan's right-wing forces are moving at an unprecedented pace to strip away the facade of a peaceful nation, once again posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability. The lessons of history are unmistakable. Looking back at Japan before and after the outbreak of World War II, Japan's militarist expansion was always accompanied by systematic deception and manipulation of its own people. In the end, the wars of aggression inflicted immense suffering on the region and brought devastating consequences upon the Japanese people themselves. Eighty years later, right-wing forces in Japan appear intent on repeating the same dangerous course, attempting to draw the country once again into the abyss of neo-militarism, repeating a path that harms both others and itself. The Japanese people should remain highly vigilant. Japan's future does not lie in the perilous illusions promoted by the right-wing forces, but in a thorough reckoning with its history of aggression, in fostering friendly relations with its Asian neighbors, and in firmly upholding regional peace and development.

MFA spokesperson on Japanese PM’s call for deletion of “Enemy State Clauses”: The Enemy State Clauses are a legal mechanism in the UN Charter. For 81 years, these clauses have served to prevent the resurgence of fascism and militarism and defend the postwar international order. They are still relevant today. Recognizing Japan’s militarist crimes and accepting the UN Charter in its entirety was the prerequisite for Japan’s admission into the UN. We urge Japan to take history as a mirror, deeply repent, and earn the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community through concrete actions. #UNGA81# #TokyoTrials80#

A Chinese envoy has urged #Japan# to address historical issues properly and with sincerity, saying the forced recruitment of "comfort women" constituted a grave crime against humanity committed by Japanese militarism against women. #woman#

From massively expanding military spending and deploying long-range missiles to relaxing restrictions on arms exports, attempts by Japanese right-wing forces to resurrect militarism are pure wishful thinking. The red line of history must not be crossed. Any ambition to revive militarism will be completely shattered by a head-on blow from the forces of global peace and justice! (Cartoon by CM) #TiantanView# #Japan# #Cartoon#

Reality Check: Is Japan committed to peace under PM Sanae Takaichi? In her #UNGA81# speech, PM Takaichi claims Japan to be a “contributor to peace” under its “exclusively defense-oriented” policy. The Reality under the current Japanese administration: ⚫️a constant denial and glorification of Japan’s wartime history ⚫️a series of moves to rebuild Japan’s war machine ⚫️acceleration of remilitarization ⚫️attempts to discard the three non-nuclear principles ⚫️attempts to revise the pacifist Constitution A true peace-loving nation with a war-crime past would repent over history and make a clean break with militarism. Time for the Takaichi administration to stop challenging the postwar order and jeopardizing the region’s peace and stability.