Japanese Defence Minister Koizumi Shinjirō denied accusations of "new militarism" in a speech delivered at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, militaries and diplomats.
"Think about it. There's a country that has a huge arsenal of nuclear weapons and strategic bombers. Japan has neither of such weapons, and yet Japan is labelled 'new militarism'?," he said on Sunday, in pointed remarks aimed at China.