CNN
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The leader is a former supermarket manager who founded his party on YouTube during the depths of the coronavirus pandemic and campaigned for Trump’s message “Japanese First.”
Sansate, Japan’s fast-growing right-wing populist party, has now become an unlikely winner of this weekend’s parliamentary election.
According to public broadcaster NHK, Sansate was inspired by other populist right-wing groups that have surged in recent years, and bagged 14 seats for Japanese senators.
That may not sound much in the 248-seat room, but it shows that the party’s message resonates with some of the Japanese people.
The surprising success has put pressure on Prime Minister Isba and his ruling Liberal Democrats, losing a majority in both the House and upper houses after Sunday’s election.
Isba faces a call to resign, and he has resisted so far.
Sanseito’s rise is particularly noteworthy given its unusual origins. Party leader Sohei Kamiya founded the group in 2020 by “gathering people on the internet” and then gradually began to gain seats at local rallies, he said in a speech earlier this month. As of Monday, its YouTube channel has over 460,000 subscribers.
It gained traction during the symbiotic pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and global elite conspiracy, Reuters reported.
However, in the preliminary stages of the Senate election, it became well known for its “Japan’s first” campaign. This focuses on overtourism complaints and influx of foreign residents.
It was an increasingly sensitive issue. The world’s fourth largest economy has traditionally been strict with immigration, but in recent years it has been rapidly aging and working hard to combat the fertility rate to attract more international tourists and foreign workers.
And it worked.
Japan’s foreign population has jumped from 2.23 million to 3.77 million over the past decade, but still accounts for only 3% of the total population of over 120 million.
The number of tourists continues to break new records. However, it caused a town problem that was overwhelming by visitors. Visitors behave badly and drain water-like resources from the country’s famous hot springs.
Some people believe that there are too many foreigners in Japan today. The government recently formed a new task force to address this issue.
Sanseito exploited these frustrations on its “Japan’s first” platform, along with other complaints about stagnant wages, high inflation and cost of living.
“Living for Japanese people is becoming more and more difficult now,” said Kamiya, a former supermarket manager and English teacher, in a speech in July. He cited the lack of economic growth and the widening gap between wealth.
“A growing number of foreigners are coming (to Japan),” he warned. He added that he doesn’t care about tourists, but he argued that relying on cheap foreign labor would harm Japanese wages, and that foreign workers who can’t find good jobs would increase crime.
The party supports the upper limit of foreigners in each town or city, supports more restrictions on immigration and benefits available to foreigners, making it difficult to naturalize as citizens.
Sanseito also drives a health system that comes from stronger security and prevention laws, greater tax cuts, renewable energy and vaccines.
It encourages greater defensive capabilities and warns that Japan needs “deterrent” while pursuing long-term denuclearization, as it is “surrounded” by nuclear-armed states.
Kamiya also has the US Donald Trump Magazine movement and AFD (German Alternative) Party and Reformed Britain.
According to Reuters, Joshua Walker, head of the US-based nonprofit Japan Association, said:
“That’s the weakness of LDP and Isba more than anything,” he added.
Many criticize Sansate’s platform as xenophobic and discriminatory. Prior to the election, he attempted to soften some of the party’s more controversial ideas and attract more female voters, according to Reuters.
However, he won the winning tone after the election results, Reuters reported. “The public has come to understand that the media is wrong and that Sansate was right,” Kamiya said.
As a result, the Isba Union remains on a very unstable ground.
He has already lost strong control of the House in October, and the LDP has lost a majority for the first time in 15 years. This is an exciting responsibilities from Japanese voters to the ruling party for many years.
At a press conference on Monday, Isbah called the Senate, causing a harsh judgment against the LDP and apologised to his party. He said the party will continue to control alongside its coalition partners and will work with other political parties on important issues.
Earlier on Sunday, Isba told NHK he intends to remain as prime minister and party leader, citing a tariff talk with the US.
Japan is one of many countries facing 25% tariffs since August 1 under Trump’s latest measures. At a press conference Monday, Isba said he wanted to talk to Trump as soon as possible to find a solution.
CNN’s Asada Yumi Yumi contributed the report.
