How a far-flung ‘Japanese first’ party gets new land

For three years, once the fringe opposition party held just one seat in the upper house with 248 seats in Japan.

But on Sunday, Sanseito emerged as one of the largest winners of Japan’s election – walking away with 14 seats.

The party was born in 2020 during the Kovid -19 epidemic, where it gained prominence with YouTube video, which spreads the principles of conspiracy about vaccination.

Recently, it has created its platform on a nationalist “Japanese first” agenda, which warns against the “silent attack of foreigners”.

The increase in the popularity of Sanseito reflects the growing unbearable on immigration and overturism – the ruling government also demanded to address with a new committee before the election.

But do these benefits indicate a permanent change on the right to the right in Japan?

Launching in early 2020, Sanseito attracted attention among conservatives with its series of YouTube videos, focused on anti-vaccines and anti-masking rhetoric.

It won its first seat in the upper home in 2022, after a campaign in which it saw itself as a “anti-blind” party. In rallies, supporters spoke of a world where a cabel of globalists and financial institutions was conspiring to God on powerless citizens.

In its recent expedition, the party increased the cuts in populist vows such as consumption and child gains. But it is best known for its nationalist “Japanese first” platform, rally against immigrants, its leader Sohei Kamiya earlier said that he had inspired from US President Donald Trump’s “bold political style”.

The promises of SANSEITO have won it online by young conservatives – the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) cuts the stereotype support base.

The weekend election results also underlined the disappointment of voters with LDP leader and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who struggled to motivate confidence to struggle against Japan Economic Headwind, a cost-lively crisis and trade talks with the United States.

Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Japanese studies at Kanda University of International Studies, says that support for more right -wing parties had distanced orthodox voters from LDP.

“Prime Minister Ishiba is not considered enough orthodox by many supporters of the former Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe, “He says.” They feel that they do not have nationalist views on history, they do not have strong views against China which Abe had. ,

Instead, voters are turning to Sanseito and other opposition parties, “they will pay to get away from orthodox ideals to vent their frustrations and show LDP, which was once standing for the party,” Once for the party stands, “Rintaro Nishimura, a colleague of the Asia group, says Rintaro Nishimura – was passed for an example.

“Success of” [opposition parties in] This cycle suggests that voter status quo establishment is ill with politics, “he says.

It was also shown in votes for another small opposition party, the Center Right Democratic Party for People, who won 16 seats in Sunday’s election – a big jump from its last 5 seats.

But for SANSEITO, despite the benefits of this election, it is still less than the minimum number of seats required to submit the budget bill in the upper house. And in the more powerful lower house, it has only three seats.

Kamiya, 47, was a member of LDP, who has long ruled at one point of her political career. During the 2012 general election, the then President of the party Shinzo Abe managed to campaign on his behalf – although he eventually lost the race.

Kamiya launched SANSEITO in March 2020, and was the only candidate of the party selected in the upper chamber in 2022.

The former self -defense force reservoir has openly credited Trump to shape his approach, and has raided against the political and financial elite.

Like the US President, Kamiya attracted attention with her “often inflammatory and controversial comments” on the campaign mark, called Mr. Nishimura.

“His comments were spread on social media in a very well -coordinated campaign,” he says.

“Under globalism, multinational companies have changed the policies of Japan for their objectives,” Kamiya recently said at a rally in Kagoshima. “If we fail to oppose this foreign pressure, Japan will become a colony!”

Earlier this year, he faced backlash after making a mistake to gender equality policies, saying that they would encourage women to work and prevent them from having more children.

When asked about the party’s appeal to men, he said that it could be due to their “hot-blooded”, claiming that “more resonant with men”.

However, Mr. Nishimura says that exit polls have shown that Sansito is not necessarily supported by only young men, but that they got constant support from the working population, or people between the ages between the age of 20 and 50.

The male was a slant towards voters, but “unprotected not so”, Shri Nishimura said.

After Sunday’s election, Kamiya vowed to secure “50 to 60 seats” in future elections so that “[the party’s] Policies will finally become a reality ”.

He appeared trying to return some of his earlier statements, clarifying in an interview with Nippon TV after vote that his nationalist policy was not to ban “completely foreigners”.

The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record of 3.8 million at the end of 2024. According to immigration officials, this figure has increased by 10.5% from the previous year – but still is just 3% of the total population of the country.

According to the National Tourism Organization, the tourist number had a high level of around 36.9 million last year.

SANSEITO has captured the increasing restlessness on immigration, blaming the ruling LDP for more foreigners permission policies in the country.

Mr. Hall says that anti -immigration rhetoric is often on surfaces in countries dealing with a weak economy.

“The misconduct by some tourists and bad etiquette” by some tourists have added fuel to the fire, making a “big foreign problem” impression.

,[Sanseito] The immigration and perhaps improper feeling tapped into desperation that the immigrants were growing too much, “they say.

Japan has traditionally been careful with immigration, but faced an aging population, the government in recent years reduced immigration laws in an attempt to promote manpower.

Some Japanese people have been disappointed with foreigners’ influx and blamed them for increasing crime and inflation, among other things.

A week before the election on Tuesday, the authorities established a new committee with the aim of reducing the concerns of the citizens, “promised to shape a society of systematic and harmonious co -existence with foreign nationals.”

But now it appears to be too late – and the climb of Sanseito may indicate a significant turn in Japan’s political scenario.

“I think for years now, people said that Japan does not have a populist right, or has no populist,” says Sri Hall. “but I think [the result] Has proved that this is likely to happen in Japan, and it is probably to live here. ,

However, Mr. Nishimura noticed that it has been “notorious” to establish itself as an appearance in Japanese politics due to this “fickle” voters for populist parties.

“If they see that a party that he has supported is not meeting their expectations, then they will return to the installed options or move forward on new options.”