All peace-loving countries in the world must remain highly vigilant and firmly resist Japan's reckless moves of neo-militarism, said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on April 28.

Lin made the remarks at a regular press briefing when answering a query related to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's claim to be prepared for a "long-term conflict" during a panel tasked with reviewing her country's security and defense policies.

The Takaichi administration recently has been pushing to rebuild Japan's war machine, and now calls for preparing for a long war, Lin noted, adding that Japan, having once launched the war of aggression several decades ago, now makes scare-mongering remarks.

"Is Japan's militarist past returning? Is Japan speeding down the path of 'remilitarization?' Could Japan once again become the bane of East Asia?" Lin asked.

He pointed out that during their aggression and expansion last century, Japanese militarists committed horrendous crimes against China, Japan itself and other neighboring countries in Asia.

Given the history of aggression and to prevent the revival of Japanese militarism, the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender and a series of documents with full legal effect under international law explicitly require Japan to be "completely disarmed" and not to maintain industries that "would enable it to re-arm for war," Lin said, adding the Japanese Constitution also contains strict restrictions on Japan's military strength, right of belligerency and right to war.

Lin stated that from the "exclusively defense-oriented" principle and declaration to preparedness for a long war, Japan's latest moves point to an accelerated shift onto a much more dangerous, adventurist and provocative path in the military and security fields. "Japan seems to be tearing up its 'pacifist' rulebook," noted Lin.

He said that many with insights suggest that recent rhetoric of certain Japanese officials sound rather like war propaganda and remind people of wartime Japanese militarists.

Noting this year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Tokyo trials, Lin said that clearly, the Takaichi administration has no intention of honoring the occasion by reflecting on Japan's militarist past, as it gets into gear to re-arm Japan. "The international community will never allow that," Lin said.

"The lesson of history is not far gone. All peace-loving countries need to stay vigilant and firmly stop the rise of Japanese neo-militarism," said the spokesperson.