Open challenges to postwar order demand high vigilance

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was in New York early last week, beginning her trip with an address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, after meeting the US president the same day.

A photo taken on her arrival shows her waving across a relatively empty tarmac at the John F. Kennedy International Airport. Footage released by the Japanese prime minister's office on Tuesday showed Takaichi being greeted by several Japanese officials, with no senior US representatives present.

The waving-to-the-air scene made some Japanese people feel uncomfortable, prompting them to seek a clear understanding of Japan's status — particularly in the eyes of its ally.

Takaichi's speech during the UN General Assembly's general debate illustrates, to some extent, why Japan currently finds itself in this awkward position.

In her first appearance as Japanese leader at the UN, Takaichi openly, and selectively, cited a nonbinding UN document from 21 years ago to call for amendments to the UN Charter — specifically, the removal of "enemy state" references.

Such references are provisions permitting regional enforcement action against the defeated Axis powers in the World Anti-Fascist War without prior Security Council authorization, allowing UN trusteeship over territories detached from them, and preserving the legality of Allied wartime and postwar measures against them.

Given that the Takaichi government is accelerating Japan's remilitarization — thereby paving the way for the rise of neo-militarism across legal, social, technological, economic and geopolitical fronts — her making such an explicit appeal from the UN podium constitutes a brazen challenge to the postwar international order.

In a recent interview, Cabinet Secretariat Adviser Naoya Imai, who previously served as chief secretary to former prime minister Shinzo Abe, broke his usual behind-the-scenes posture by granting an interview to Daily Shincho. While framed as advice, his comments contained implicit criticism of "Takaichi diplomacy".

Imai remarked, "In diplomacy, there is no need to deliberately go out of your way to say things that don't need to be said", and cautioned that Japan "must not easily cut off ties with the world". This was widely interpreted by political analysts as an open critique of Takaichi's blunt, hard-line rhetoric and her handling of foreign relations, especially Japan-China relations.

In fact, there had been plenty of similar suggestions before, but Takaichi simply refuses to listen to them.

What has particularly unsettled the domestic right-wing forces behind Takaichi, was that, shortly after her return from the US, the heads of state of China and the US recalled that China and the US were allies in World War II and fought side by side to win the war.

Takaichi may utter all the beautiful words and pledge substantial investment in the US; however, when it comes to matters of principle, these concessions — already viewed domestically as an added burden on Japan — may not be able to secure a green light for the rise of Japanese neo-militarism.

Takaichi hastily trumpeted on social media that she had spoken by phone with the US leader on Saturday, claiming that they exchanged views on a range of China-related issues, including the economy and security, and affirmed Japan-US cooperation. Such maneuvering, aimed at saving face at home, lays bare her shaky confidence.

It is precisely because Takaichi knows that the neo-militarism she is pushing runs counter to the tide of the times that she is so desperate to seek external endorsement.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trials. China and the US are both permanent members of the UN Security Council, and it is their shared responsibility, as well as that of other peace-loving nations to uphold the postwar international order and prevent the rise of neo-militarism.

The embarrassment and sense of disappointment that Takaichi has caused for some people in Japan ultimately stem from the policies, words and actions of her government.