Arab News Japan

TOKYO: Activists and anti-war groups in Tokyo took to the streets to protest what they called ‘American militarism’ and to denounce the visit of US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Japan, raising the logo, ‘Blinken, you are not welcome here’.

Blinken and the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, met in Tokyo on Sunday with their Japanese counterparts, Foreign Minister KAMIKAWA Yoko, and Defense Minister KIHARA Minoru, in the so-called “Japan-US 2+2 Meeting.”

The protestors voiced their concerns, accusing the US representatives of having ‘blood on their hands’ for their perceived inaction during Israel’s conflict in Gaza. They also criticized the talks between Japan and the US, claiming they were aimed at ‘preserving American hegemony.’

Officials underscored the urgency of the meeting, citing ‘an increasingly deteriorating regional security environment’ as the impetus. They confirmed their intent to implement new strategic initiatives and build a global partnership, including upgrading Alliance command and control, deepening defense industry and advanced technology cooperation, and enhancing cross-domain operations.

Japan reaffirmed its commitment to enhancing its defense capabilities and close coordination with the United States to ‘maintain peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.’ The United States, in turn, welcomed Japan’s efforts, including the sustained increase in its defense budget and the development of counterstrike capabilities.

However, the pro-peace groups in Japan viewed the meetings as initiating an arms race in the region, and expressed their concern that diplomacy was not mentioned as a tool to deal with the confrontations in East Asia.

“The meeting goal was to strengthen bilateral military ties for their respective militaristic objectives.”