At the end of a misguided path lies only an abyss.

Within the span of a single month, a series of development has underscored the rapid advance of Japan's "neo-militarism": an active-duty Self-Defense Forces member forcibly intruding into the Chinese Embassy with a knife, the destroyer JS Ikazuchi transiting the Taiwan Strait, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi offering ritual items to Yasukuni Shrine, and the Japanese government completing revisions to the Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology.

Since Sanae Takaichi took office last year, from erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question, to risky military moves, and onward to efforts aimed at constitutional revision, Japan's right-wing forces are moving at an unprecedented pace to strip away the facade of a peaceful nation, once again posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

The lessons of history are unmistakable. Looking back at Japan before and after the outbreak of World War II, Japan's militarist expansion was always accompanied by systematic deception and manipulation of its own people. In the end, the wars of aggression inflicted immense suffering on the region and brought devastating consequences upon the Japanese people themselves. Eighty years later, right-wing forces in Japan appear intent on repeating the same dangerous course, attempting to draw the country once again into the abyss of neo-militarism, repeating a path that harms both others and itself.

The Japanese people should remain highly vigilant. Japan's future does not lie in the perilous illusions promoted by the right-wing forces, but in a thorough reckoning with its history of aggression, in fostering friendly relations with its Asian neighbors, and in firmly upholding regional peace and development.