Japanese Defense Officials Open X Accounts to Counter Chinese Statements

Japanese defense officials opened accounts on X in late June to counter what they described as one-sided Chinese claims. ” He later posted English and Chinese versions of the comment. One week later, Gen.

Hiroaki Uchikura, chief of staff of the Defense Ministry’s Joint Staff, opened his own account. Both accounts have drawn more than 30,000 followers. Uchikura has cited official Joint Staff posts and added videos of ships and aircraft in multilateral exercises along with a photograph of a naval officer receiving a letter of appreciation at the Australian Embassy in Tokyo.

The moves follow a series of Chinese statements and reflect the Self-Defense Forces’ assessment that cognitive warfare through disinformation has grown more urgent since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. ” A ministry official said increasing channels for correct information is significant and that an environment allowing swift responses is necessary because advances in artificial intelligence have accelerated the spread of disinformation.