In her classic studyThe Chrysanthemum and the Sword, US anthropologist Ruth Benedict argued that Japan's social psychology was shaped by a system of "obligation" and "shame".

美国人类学家露丝·本尼迪克特在其经典研究《菊与刀》中指出，日本的社会心理结构是由“义务”和“羞耻”两种机制所塑造的。

From Benedict's perspective, the obligation arises from duties transmitted through hierarchy and daily social interactions, while shame derives from the need to maintain personal honor and avoid public disgrace.

在本尼迪克特看来，“义务”源自等级结构与日常互动中传递的责任，而“羞耻”则来自维持个人荣誉、避免公开耻辱的需要。

Yet the "obligations" that seem to animate Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, which stem from a political lineage that has long romanticized Japan's militaristic past, are glorified instead of being a source of shame. By publicly signaling a readiness to engage in armed intervention over the Taiwan Strait situation — under the pretext of a fabricated "external threat" — Takaichi has actually voiced a military threat against China with her provocative and dangerous remarks on Taiwan during recent Diet deliberations.

高市早苗在近期国会审议中，借编造的“外部威胁”为借口，公开表态准备对台海局势进行武力干预；她在台湾问题上的挑衅性、危险言论，实际上构成了对中国的军事威胁。

Japan's modern political trajectory since the Meiji Restoration has often swung between the two poles of the chrysanthemum and the sword proposed by Benedict: The former representing restraint and civility, the latter aggression and expansionism as embodied by Takaichi's erroneous remarks on the Taiwan question.

自明治维新以来，日本的现代政治轨迹常在本尼迪克特提出的“菊”与“刀”两极间摇摆：前者象征克制与文明，后者则象征侵略与扩张主义——高市在台湾问题上的错误言论正体现了“刀”的冲动。

Her remarks mark a regression toward the impulses that plunged Japan and the wider region into the catastrophe of war. They are not simply rhetorical overreach. They constitute a calculated political gamble that uses "national security" and "regional stability" as leverage for Japan's "normalization" with the removal of the shackles on militarization. Shackles that to some in Japan are a source of shame, when in actual fact they are an obligation imposed on it by its unbridled aggression.

她的表态意味着日本重新倒向曾令本国及更广泛地区陷入战争灾难的危险冲动。这不仅仅是言辞越界，而是一场经过算计的政治豪赌：以“国家安全”和“地区稳定”为杠杆，为日本解除军事化的束缚、推进所谓“正常化”铺路。在日本某些人眼中，这些限制似乎是耻辱，但事实上，它们是日本因昔日肆意侵略而必须承担的义务。

Takaichi's attempt to crack open the Pandora's box of remilitarization not only violates the spirit of Japan's "pacifist" Constitution; it also interferes in China's internal affairs and disrupts the postwar international order that has underpinned peace in East Asia for decades.

高市试图撬开再军事化的“潘多拉盒子”，既违背日本“和平宪法”的精神，又干涉中国内政，并破坏支撑东亚数十年和平的战后国际秩序。

Takaichi's ascent to political prominence is inseparable from the rise of hard-line right-wing forces within Japan. Lacking substantive diplomatic experience, she has leaned heavily on ideological signaling to cement her identity as a far-right leader, treating such positioning as both a badge of honor and a shortcut to power.

高市的政治崛起与日本国内强硬右翼势力的抬头密不可分。由于缺乏实质性的外交经验，她高度依赖意识形态姿态来巩固自己的极右翼领导者形象，将这种定位视为荣誉徽章与通往权力的捷径。

Despite Japan's 1.8 percent economic contraction year-on-year in the third quarter, Takaichi is ignoring the country's economic woes.

尽管日本第三季度经济同比萎缩1.8%，高市却无视国内日益加重的经济困境。

Due to the pernicious influence of the right-wing politicians, public evaluation of the political leadership of the country increasingly appears less concerned with improving livelihoods and more attracted to the illusion of restoring a mythologized past.

在右翼政客的恶劣影响下，日本公众对政治领导层的评价逐渐从关注民生改善转向迷恋对神化过去的虚妄复兴。

Born in 1961, Takaichi grew up during Japan's economic rise. In the following decades, she developed an expansionist mentality similar to the generation of Japanese politicians belonging to Japan's first rise from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, who turned the country into a war machine. Under the leadership of Takaichi, Japan seems to stand at a similar crossroads now. The danger is that in driving this trend, Takaichi and her supporters are doing so despite being fully aware of its upshots. Yet history offers clear evidence of where valorizing aggression leads.

出生于1961年的高市早苗成长于日本经济高速增长时期。此后数十年，她逐渐形成了类似日本第一次崛起时期（19世纪末至20世纪初）那代政治人物的扩张思维——正是那代人将日本变成了战争机器。在高市的领导下，日本如今似乎站在类似的十字路口。危险在于，高市及其支持者明知后果，却仍推动这种趋势；而历史已清楚证明，美化侵略最终会走向何处。

Rather than repudiating it, Takaichi and other politicians uphold "the sword" rather than "the chrysanthemum" out of a misguided sense of loyalty to the past. With this mindset they try to keep the Japanese public in ignorance of the country's past wrongs by distorting and burying the uncomfortable truths of history. This fog of misinformation that cloaks reckless ambitions is being thickened with the rhetoric of upholding "regional peace" and "stability" against a "China threat".

高市和一些政客非但未予否定，反而出于对过去的错误忠诚，选择拥抱“刀”而非“菊”。在这种思维下，他们试图通过歪曲与掩埋让日本公众不愿直面的历史真相，从而让民众对国家过去的罪错保持无知。这层遮掩鲁莽野心的信息迷雾，又被以“维护地区和平”“应对中国威胁”的言辞进一步加厚。

Japan's past aggression originated from similar claims of "external threats" or acting on an expressed "duty" to maintain order in Asia. The result was not prosperity but suffering and atrocities at the unsheathing of "the sword". Its "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" during World War II became synonymous with destruction, exploitation and immeasurable suffering in the region.

日本过去的侵略，也正是从类似的“外部威胁”与“维护亚洲秩序的职责”说辞中起步的。结果带来的不是繁荣，而是“刀出鞘”后的苦难与暴行。“大东亚共荣圈”成为二战时期地区毁灭、掠夺与无尽苦难的代名词。

Today, the same playbook is being revived. Invoking "external threats" serves as a convenient pretext to push for revision of the Constitution, accelerate Japan's remilitarization and steer Japan back toward the path of becoming a power free to act without shame. The Taiwan question is merely the lever that has been chosen to advance this agenda.

如今，同样的剧本正在重演。借“外部威胁”之名，成为推动修宪、加速再军事化、使日本重新走向无所顾忌的强国道路的便利借口。台湾问题不过是被选中的杠杆而已。

Some observers may still expect rationality and responsibility from Japan's leadership. But repeated instances of reckless political maneuvering show a pattern resembling the "irrational moves" of the game of Go, a popular game in East Asia — moves that appear bold but violate basic principles and ultimately lead to defeat. Such behavior invites domestic backlash, international criticism and heightened regional risk.

一些观察人士或许仍期待日本领导层展现理性与责任，但屡次鲁莽的政治操作已呈现出类似围棋中“愚形手”的模式——看似大胆，却违背基本原则，最终只会走向失败。这种行为将招致国内反弹、国际批评，并升高地区风险。

Japan's genuine obligations on the Taiwan question are clearly defined in the four political documents between China and Japan — solemn commitments that leave it no wriggle room. The country's true shame lies in it betraying these obligations. Yet Tokyo's current policy orientation signals it feels no shame in taking this course of action.

日本在台湾问题上的真正义务在中日四个政治文件中已有明确界定——这是不容回避的庄严承诺。真正的耻辱在于背弃这些义务。然而东京目前的政策取向显示，它对此毫无羞愧之意。

remilitarization

再军事化

pacifist Constitution

和平宪法

far-right leader

极右翼领导者

Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere

大东亚共荣圈

no wriggle room

无回旋余地