BEIJING: China has advised Japan to stay on the ” path of peace”. The advice comes after newly elected prime minister Shinzo Abe picked a pro-militarization politician, Gen Nakatani, as the new defence minister.
“It is our position that whoever serves as the defence minister of Japan, the Japanese side should follow the path of peaceful development,” Chinese defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun, a senior colonel, said in a briefing on Thursday.
Nakatani’s appointment has significantly pushed up Abe’s popular approval rating by nearly four per cent to 53.3 per cent in Japan, according to a survey by the Koydo News Agency, on Thursday. The Abe-Nakatani combine is expected to amend the country’s paicifist constitution and acquire pre-emptive strike capabilities.