by Our Foreign Desk

JAPAN’S cabinet approved a defence report yesterday which justifies the country’s remilitarisation on the grounds of an “assertive” China.

The report had been delayed for more than a week as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe demanded more references to China’s alleged expansionism in the white paper.

In a move reminiscent of the British government’s 2002 “sexed-up” dodgy dossier on Iraq’s non-existent weapons of mass destruction — used to justify the 2003 Iraq war — the cabinet’s national security panel called for extra examples of China’s “one-sided” maritime activities, such as undersea gas and oil development in the East China Sea.

The 429-page document claimed that that the security risk faced by Japan had worsened overall, with missile and nuclear threats from North Korea and terrorism by Islamic State (Isis) given as examples.

But China was singled out as the greatest danger to Japan, taking up one-third of a chapter on global security trends covering eight countries and regions.

“China, particularly over conflicting maritime issues, continues to act in an assertive manner, including coercive attempts to change the status quo, and is poised to fulfil its unilateral demands high-handedly without compromise,” the report claimed.

“Japan is strongly concerned about China’s actions, which we need to keep watching closely.”

The report also raised concerns over China’s recent land reclamation work in the South China Sea, alleging it had raised regional tensions.

Tokyo’s reluctance to apologise for its history of colonialism and genocide in China and Korea from the late 19th century until the end of World War II has caused diplomatic tension with its neighbours.

Japan’s parliament, the Diet, passed legislation last week that “reinterprets” the country’s post-war constitution which forbids the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) from being sent to fight overseas, limiting them to home defence only.

The new legislation allows the use of the military to defend Japan’s allies, including the US.

Angry demonstrations were held outside the Diet and opposition MPs walked out in protest as the Bills were passed.

The decision to send SDF medical and construction units to Afghanistan and Iraq in 2004 also met with protest.