Japan’s reported plan to boost Iwoto island military build-up signals resurgent militarism, undermining regional peace: expert

Asahi Shimbun reported on Wednesday, citing multiple sources close to the ministry, that Japan's Defense Ministry has decided to beef up its air base on Iwoto island.

“latest news Against the backdrop of strained China-Japan relations, Japan, per media disclosures, continues to amplify claims of "Chinese military threats" rhetoric to justify fortifying armed positions on Pacific islands”

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The move was described as in response to what Tokyo called "China's increasing military operations" in the Pacific.

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The report links that claim to two Chinese aircraft operating in the Pacific and advancing east of the "second island chain" in June 2025.

The media said the ministry is working to start studies in the new fiscal year aimed at strengthening the island's port facilities and runway.

The ministry is considering installing a non-fixed pier to allow large vessels to dock and is also considering permanently stationing Self-Defense Forces fighter jets on the island.

These details come from media disclosures and sources close to the ministry, and the article does not provide independent confirmation from the Japanese government.

The article situates Iwoto island about 1,100 kilometers south of Tokyo, between Japan's home islands and the American base on Guam.

It calls Iwoto a key link in the northern portion of the "second island chain", looking west toward Okinawa and the "first island chain" and east across the Western Pacific.

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The article reports that Iwoto currently hosts approximately 250 Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force personnel and about 100 Air Self-Defense Force personnel.

The central runway is also used by the US military for carrier-based aircraft land-based takeoff and landing training.

The article recalls that during World War II the US army and Japanese fascist troops suffered devastating casualties in the Battle of Iwo Jima (Iwoto island).

It places the Iwoto plan alongside other recent Japanese moves, noting that on February 24 Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan plans to deploy upgraded air defense missiles on a westernmost Okinawa island within sight of China's Taiwan region.

The article also says Japan held joint drills with the US and the Philippines near the Bashi Channel in late February, according to the Japan Times.

Chinese military affairs analysts quoted in the article portray the Iwoto plan as evidence of a resurgence of Japanese militarism and an erosion of the country's 'defense-only' doctrine.

“latest news Against the backdrop of strained China-Japan relations, Japan, per media disclosures, continues to amplify claims of "Chinese military threats" rhetoric to justify fortifying armed positions on Pacific islands”

@globaltimesnews

Zhang Junshe told the Global Times, 'By building up military strength on an island over 1,000 kilometers from its home islands, Japan is engaging in anything but defense… is plainly an offensive forward-positioning maneuver.'

Zhang warned that Japan's erosion of its 'pacifist constitution' and 'exclusive defense' doctrine would interfere with and threaten normal maritime training operations and freedom of navigation of other regional countries' ships and aircraft, endangering regional peace and stability.

Song Zhongping told the Global Times that the Iwoto rearmament plan exemplifies active cooperation with the US' 'Indo-Pacific' strategy to contain and suppress China's development and called the island a 'springboard strategy' suiting US operational needs.

The article also notes a contradiction between Japanese statements that they are 'reinforcing defenses' and analysts' view that the measures constitute an aggressive, forward-positioning agenda; this contradiction is presented but not resolved in the reporting.