No nation is more alert than China when Japan's ruling coalition was trying a final push on Friday to enact the unpopular security bills that will expand the role of the country's Self-Defense Forces (SDF).
Eerily, Sept. 18 this year marks the 84th anniversary of the invasion of northeast China by Japanese troops.
The enactment of the legislation, known in Japan as "war bills," would allow the SDF to engage in conflict overseas for the first time since WWII as well as to go into combat under certain conditions when Japan itself is not under attack.
Japan's ruling coalition might be one step closer to its dream of normalizing the nation's military orientation, but for Japanese people and neighboring nations, a nightmare scenario has never been closer.
On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese troops used the pretext of an explosion along a Japanese-controlled railway to occupy the city of Mukden (today's Shenyang).
The incident ushered in the 14-year Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, in which China suffered more than 35 million military and civilian casualties.
Some might argue the timing is a coincidence. However, it should be noted that Japan commissioned a large helicopter-capable navy ship in March, and named it after a warship used in the invasion of China in the early 20th century. The second vessel of the same class is named after an aircraft carrier that attacked Pearl Harbor.
Such "coincidences" evoke bitter memories of Japan's wartime atrocities, not only among Chinese but also among people in other war victim nations.
Regrettably, 70 years after the end of WWII, the wounds that Japan's militaristic ambitions inflicted upon Asian neighbors have not yet healed.
The island nation's aggression in the early 20th century was among the first challenges from the Axis powers against the weak world order forged after World War I.
Though peace and development have been the prevailing trend in the region and world, it is reasonable to question whether Japan will give up its defense posture or challenge the international order set after the end of World War II.
To garner support, the Japanese government has employed the old trick of playing up security threats, such as citing China's lawful reclamation of land from its own waters.
Since China has vowed it will remain committed to peaceful development and never seek hegemony or expansion, the Japanese government's groundless accusations are hard to sell, even inside Japan.
More than half of the respondents to a recent poll by the Asahi Shimbun, a national newspaper, are against the bills, and huge numbers of protestors have taken to Japanese streets.
The legislation might burn up Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's political capital, as his support rate is dipping to a new low, and tarnish the reputation of a nation that has earned international respect for its pacifist Constitution over 70 years.
It could also lead Japan astray. In an era of globalization, it is normal for a nation to learn the lessons of history and have a keen sense of a global community with a shared future, rather than adhere to Cold War mentality and consolidate alliances.
Instead of throwing obstacles on the road to reconciliation between Japan and its neighbors, the Japanese government should take tangible actions to reflect on its aggressive past so countries in the region can forge a new future together.
