Japan's defence minister refuted claims of reviving militarism at a security conference, stating that defense strategy changes allow for a new cooperative role. Tokyo opposes unilateral changes to the status quo by force.

Japan’s defence minister has rejected suggestions that his country is reviving its militaristic past, telling a regional security conference that changes to its defence strategy would allow it to play a new cooperative role. Shinjiro Koizumi also used his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday to state that Tokyo opposed “unilateral changes to the status quo by force or coercion”, a comment believed to refer to Beijing’s maritime activities, including in the East and South China seas, and.....