Shotlist Tokyo, Japan - Dec 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Books reflecting Japan's militarization 2. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Konishi Makoto, Japanese military commentator (partially overlaid with shot 3): "[The Japanese government] is raising military spending to 2 percent, 2.5 percent, or even 3 percent of GDP. Japan is advancing militarism at an astonishing pace. In the past, Japan clearly rejected nuclear armament, but the logic has now shifted to discussion, then acceptance, and eventually nuclearization. Japan is currently moving along this path." ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++ FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Nov 20, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 3. Diet building ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++ 4. Traffic in front of Diet building 5. Various of Diet building, national flag of Japan Tokyo, Japan - Dec 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 6. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Konishi Makoto, Japanese military commentator (partially overlaid with shot 3): "I think simply withdrawing the statements or issuing an apology is far from enough. If this process of militarization is not fundamentally stopped, the problem cannot be truly resolved." FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Nov 20, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 7. Various of pedestrians, security, traffic in front of Prime Minister's Office of Japan Tokyo, Japan - Dec 23, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Konishi Makoto, Japanese military commentator (starting with shot 7/partially overlaid with shot 3): "As a Japanese person, I feel deeply ashamed. Historical revisionism is resurfacing. Combined with the policy direction of the Takaichi administration, politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the Self-Defense Forces' so-called 'southwestern shift strategy,' it has formed an absurd logic: 'We are victims, so we must avoid failing again.' This way of thinking is spreading in society. The inferiority complex born from defeat is gradually turning into blind confidence, which is a key feature of the current ideological changes in Japan." ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++ FILE: Tokyo, Japan - Nov 20, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Traffic in front of Diet building ++SHOT OVERLAYING SOUDNBITE++ 10. Various of traffic, pedestrians Storyline Japan's latest record-high defense budget and a broader shift in security policy since Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office have sparked alarm, with a Japanese military commentator warning that Tokyo's accelerating militarization deserves close international vigilance. In an interview with China Media Group, Japanese military commentator Konishi Makoto said the trend signals a dangerous turn that could undermine regional peace. Japan's draft defense budget was set at a record 9.04 trillion yen (about 58 billion U.S. dollars) for fiscal 2026, local media reported Friday. The figure exceeds the then record initial budget of 8.7 trillion yen for the current fiscal 2025 starting in April and is in line with Japan's defense buildup plan to allot about 43 trillion yen to defense outlays from fiscal 2023 through 2027. Konishi pointed out that Japan's moves toward debating nuclear weapons are not impulsive, but the result of long-term planning. "[The Japanese government] is raising military spending to 2 percent, 2.5 percent, or even 3 percent of GDP. Japan is advancing militarism at an astonishing pace. In the past, Japan clearly rejected nuclear armament, but the logic has now shifted to discussion, then acceptance, and eventually nuclearization. Japan is currently moving along this path," he said. He warned that policy moves since Takaichi took office have not only heightened regional tensions but could also pushed Japan closer to the front line of conflict, calling for heightened alertness and a strong curb on it. "I think simply withdrawing the statements or issuing an apology is far from enough. If this process of militarization is not fundamentally stopped, the problem cannot be truly resolved," he said. Konishi further noted that Japan's rightward shift in recent years is closely tied to a failure to properly reflect on its history of aggression. "As a Japanese person, I feel deeply ashamed. Historical revisionism is resurfacing. Combined with the policy direction of the Takaichi administration, politicians' visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, and the Self-Defense Forces' so-called 'southwestern shift strategy,' it has formed an absurd logic: 'We are victims, so we must avoid failing again.' This way of thinking is spreading in society. The inferiority complex born from defeat is gradually turning into blind confidence, which is a key feature of the current ideological changes in Japan," he said. Under the defense budget, 100.1 billion yen has been earmarked for building the "Shield" layered coastal defense system, which requires numerous aerial, surface and underwater vehicles, while 1.1 billion yen has been set aside to assess the use of long-endurance drones as a measure against airspace violations, Kyodo News reported. Meanwhile, an 18.3 trillion yen supplementary budget enacted on Dec. 16 for the current fiscal year included 1.7 trillion yen for security and diplomacy, allowing Japan to bring defense-related spending to its target of 2 percent of gross domestic product within fiscal 2025, two years ahead of the previous schedule, the report said.