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'Japanese First' party shakes up election with alarm over foreigners

Published: 16 Jul. 2025, 19:42

Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya speaks during a debate with leaders of other political parties at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan on July 2. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

An upstart party is gaining support ahead of elections in Japan by railing against a "silent invasion" of immigrants, pushing the government to tackle fears about foreigners as rhetoric once confined to the political fringe is dragged into the mainstream.

The party, Sanseito, which was birthed on YouTube during the Covid-19 pandemic and spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, is widening its appeal with a "Japanese First" campaign ahead of Sunday's upper house vote.

While polls indicate that it may only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, it is further eroding the support of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's shaky minority government increasingly beholden to opposition parties as it clings to power.

"In the past, anyone who brought up immigration would be attacked by the left. We are getting bashed too, but are also gaining support," said Sohei Kamiya, Sanseito's charismatic 47-year-old leader, in an interview with Reuters.

"The LDP and Komeito can't stay silent if they want to keep their support," Kamiya added, referring to Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for most of the past seven decades, and its junior coalition partner.

From left: Sanseito Secretary General Sohei Kamiya, Japanese Communist Party Chairperson Tomoko Tamura, Komeito Chief Representative Tetsuo Saito, Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan leader Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's Prime Minister and Liberal Democratic Party leader Shigeru Ishiba, Japan Innovation Party Co-Representative Hirofumi Yoshimura and Democratic Party for the People Representative Yuichiro Tamaki and Reiwa Shinsengumi President Taro Yamamoto pose before a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo, Japan, on July 2. [AP/YONHAP]

Kamiya's message has grabbed voters frustrated with a weak economy and currency that has lured tourists in record numbers in recent years, further driving up prices that Japanese can ill-afford, political analysts say.

The fast-ageing society has also seen foreign-born residents hit a record of about 3.8 million last year, although that is still just 3 percent of the total population, a tiny fraction compared to numbers in the United States and Europe.

Kamiya, a former supermarket manager and English teacher, says he has drawn inspiration from U.S. President Donald Trump's "bold political style."

It remains to be seen whether his party can follow the path of other far-right parties with which it has drawn comparisons, such as Germany's AFD and Reform UK.

Yet the ingredients are there, said Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer at Tokyo's Kanda University who has studied Japan's right-wing politics, pointing to the party's online following, appeal among young men and warnings about immigration eroding indigenous cultures.

"Anti-foreign sentiment that was considered maybe taboo to talk about so openly is now out of the box," he added.

With immigration emerging as a top election issue, Ishiba this week unveiled a new government task force to fight "crimes and disorderly conduct" by foreign nationals, and his party has promised "zero illegal foreigners."

Polls show Ishiba's ruling coalition is likely to lose its majority in the upper house vote, in a repeat of elections last year in the more powerful lower house.

While he is expected to limp on, his government may have to broaden its coalition or strike deals with other parties on policy matters, analysts say.

Kamiya, who won the party's first seat in 2022 after gaining notoriety for appearing to call for Japan's emperor to take concubines, has tried to tone down some controversial ideas formerly embraced by the party.

His election manifesto, for example, includes plans to cut taxes and increase child benefits, policies promoted by a raft of opposition parties, causing investors to fret about Japan's fiscal health and massive debt pile.

While Sanseito is the latest in a string of small far-right parties to struggle to gain a foothold in Japan's staid politics, its online support suggests that it may have staying power.

Its YouTube channel has 400,000 followers, more than any other party on the platform and three times that of the LDP, according to socialcounts.org.

Hurdles still exist. As for right-wing parties in the United States and Europe, support for Sanseito skews heavily toward men in their twenties and thirties.

Kamiya is trying to widen its appeal by fielding several female candidates such as the singer Saya, who is believed to likely clinch a seat in Tokyo.

Earlier in the campaign, Kamiya faced backlash for branding gender equality policies a mistake, saying they encourage women to work and keep them from having children.

Reuters