Comments on a Document Designated as Reference Material[1]
(July 13, 1961)

Comrades Lin Biao, He Long, Rongzhen, Ruiqing[2]:

This document merits attention. I presume you have already read it. China’s industrial and technological levels lag far behind Japan’s. What policy we should adopt is worth careful study. Would it be possible for you to discuss it among yourselves first, and then I will discuss it with you in August.

Mao Zedong
July 13, in Hangzhou

In 1961, Mao Zedong reads *Renmin Ribao* at his residence in Hangzhou.

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[1] Refers to an internal document issued on July 6, 1961. The document stated that in February 1960, the Japan Financial and Monetary Affairs Research Association, at the request of the Defense Agency, produced an internal report titled *An Analysis from Economic Policy: The Defense Industry*. The association’s chairman, Fukuda Takeo, was then serving as chairman of the Policy Affairs Research Council, the decision-making body of the Liberal Democratic Party, and its advisor, Yamaji Masamichi, was then serving as governor of the Bank of Japan. The main points of the report were: I. The starting point for Japan’s national defense and arms production: (1) Japan’s defense system should differ from those of Europe and the United States and can only proceed from the perspective of local wars. (2) Greater attention must be paid to the relationship between weapons production and national strength; the development of modern military science has already surpassed the position Japan’s national strength can sustain. (3) The concept of Japan-U.S. joint sharing of Japan’s defense must be implemented, adopting a Japan-U.S. joint defense system. II. The future direction of Japan’s national defense and arms production: (1) The focus of Japan’s national defense is to maintain the combat effectiveness of ground forces and maritime replenishment capabilities. (2) Japan’s arms production should be limited to military supplies that can be produced simultaneously with civilian goods. (3) Air defense requiring high-performance combat weapons shall be shared by the United States. III. Current deviations in Japan’s national defense and arms production: (1) The army has a relative surplus of personnel, and the air force’s aircraft burden is too heavy. (2) Arms production policy neglects the development of ground and maritime combat effectiveness, running counter to developments in domestic and international situations.

[2] Lin Biao was then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of National Defense. He Long was then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, Director of the National Defense Industry Commission, and Vice Premier of the State Council. Rongzhen, i.e., Nie Rongzhen, was then Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Director of the Science and Technology Commission. Ruiqing, i.e., Luo Ruiqing, was then Standing Committee Member and Secretary-General of the CPC Central Military Commission, and Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.