That's exactly the impression they want you (and their part of the electorate) to have. The fact is that the Japanese economy has been teetering on the brink for a long time and the population problems are only going to make it worse in the future. If Japan pissed off China enough, any sort of Chinese trade war or sanctions against Japan would send Japan into an economic disaster that they'd never pull out of.

The Japanese government knows this, Japanese companies know this, and China knows it too. That's why the far right talks big but never do anything too outrageous because they don't want to be the ones who get blamed for dropping the ball.

Plus, during the Trump years Abe started a policy of military reproachment with China, so it's not like the ideological die hards have that much power.