Chinese defense ministry urges Japan to face up to history,

BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense ministry spokesperson on Saturday urged the Japanese side to demonstrate the courage to face up to history and take real actions to atone for Japan's crimes, slamming Tokyo's renewed push for constitutional revision and military expansion.

"The call of our times is for peace and cooperation rather than war and confrontation," said Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, at a press briefing.

Jiang made the remarks in response to a question regarding Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent visits to Australia and Vietnam, during which she touted a so-called updated vision of "a free and open Indo-Pacific" and clamored that Japan's post-war constitution, drafted during U.S. military occupation, should be periodically updated to meet the demands of the times.

Under the pretexts of the so-called "free and open Indo-Pacific" and "security cooperation," governing authorities in Japan are instigating bloc confrontation and building "small circles," Jiang said. "This undermines the strategic security and interests of other countries, and serves as an excuse for Japan to break free from the restrictions on its military development, which we firmly oppose."