Originally published on October 17, 2019.
Based on Sakurai Yoshiko’s serialized column in Shukan Shincho, this article discusses China’s Chang’e 4 lunar probe and Yutu rover landing on the far side of the Moon, warning of the military ambitions behind China’s space development, cyber warfare, and the security threats of the twenty-first century.

October 17, 2019.
Those disgraceful Italians who, at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan, carried out operations exactly in line with the propaganda of China and the Korean Peninsula, attacking her with insults, slander, and defamation.
I am republishing a chapter originally posted on February 1, 2019, under the title:
Looking back at China’s space development, its military ambitions are obvious, and one senses an intent of conquest far removed from the peaceful development of mankind.
That Sakurai Yoshiko is a true national treasure of Japan is something understood by all people with eyes to see—
except for the media such as the Asahi Shimbun, Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo Shimbun, and NHK, and those disgraceful Italians who, whether they are being manipulated by the Asahi or are simply Marxists, carried out operations at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan exactly in line with the propaganda of China and the Korean Peninsula, attacking her with insults, slander, and defamation.
In particular, all those who live as what Saichō called national treasures hold heartfelt respect for her.
The following is from this week’s issue of Shukan Shincho, in which she serializes her superb essays.
China Begins a Space War by Monopolizing the Moon.
Even when living in the middle of a city, there are nights when one is captivated by the beautiful Moon.
Viewed from Earth, 380,000 kilometers away, the Moon is brilliantly beautiful whether it is waxing or full.
At the time of the full moon, if one narrows one’s eyes and looks intently, then, to put it in an ordinary way, there is clearly a rabbit there.
Now, on that lunar surface, one artificial object is running about.
It is China’s rover, Yutu.
On January 3, China’s lunar probe Chang’e 4 achieved a first in human history by landing on the far side of the Moon.
I am not happy about it at all.
In 2007 China sent Chang’e 1, and in 2010 Chang’e 2, to orbit the Moon.
With these, it created detailed maps of the lunar surface; in 2013 Chang’e 3 landed on the near side of the Moon, and this time Chang’e 4 landed on the far side of the Moon, where mankind had never before set foot, and placed the rover Yutu on the lunar surface.
Fifty years ago, America’s manned spacecraft Apollo 11 landed on the Moon, and Commander Armstrong marked mankind’s first step on its surface.
I was a student at the time, and I watched the broadcast images with the family of a friend in Alberta, Canada.
The Canadians, who were not Americans, and I, a Japanese, were all glued to the screen.
I remember sharing excitement, astonishment, longing, and a joy that felt almost as if it were our own achievement.
This time, there is no such feeling of uplift.
Rather, I become anxious, wondering whether China is getting ahead of the United States in space warfare.
That is because, looking back at China’s space development, its military ambitions are obvious, and one senses an intent of conquest far removed from the peaceful development of mankind.
Wars in the twenty-first century begin in cyberspace and from space.
We already know that cyber warfare was conducted in the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia, and in the March 2014 war between Russia and Ukraine.
Former Defense Minister Onodera Itsunori said on Genron TV that in Ukraine, first, mobile phones suddenly stopped connecting; communications at television and radio stations were cut off; and public transportation came to a halt.
Amid the confusion of the Ukrainian military, unknown people arrived and occupied the city.
They were the Russian military, and the Crimean Peninsula was seized with astonishing ease.
To be continued.