Japan’s governing coalition has lost its upper house majority following elections that saw major gains for a right-wing populist party that warned of a “silent invasion” by foreigners.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s coalition won 47 seats in the 248-seat House of Councillors in Sunday’s election, three short of the 50 it needed to retain control of the upper chamber.
The outcome left Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and junior partner Komeito with a combined 122 deputies in the upper chamber, which fills half of its seats in elections every three years.
The result marks another serious blow for Ishiba, whose government is locked in high-stakes trade negotiations with United States President Donald Trump’s administration, after his coalition lost control of the more powerful National Diet, the lower house, in elections in October.
Speaking late on Sunday as exit polls pointed to a drubbing for his coalition, Ishiba said he “solemnly” accepted the “harsh result”.
“It’s a difficult situation, and we have to take it very humbly and seriously,” Ishiba said in an interview with state broadcaster NHK.
Ishiba, who has led a minority government since losing control of the lower house, said he intended to stay on as prime minister despite the poor result.
Amid widespread discontent over rising living costs, the previously fringe Sanseito party broke into the political mainstream, picking up 14 seats on top of its one existing seat.
The party, which only holds three seats in the National Diet, capitalised on voter frustration over inflation and Japan’s moribund economy with warnings about immigration and populist pledges on tax cuts and social welfare.
Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya, a 47-year-old former English teacher and supermarket manager, has stirred controversy with conspiracy theories about vaccines and “globalist elites”, and cited Trump’s “bold political style” as inspiration.
In an interview with Nippon Television after the vote, Kamiya defended his “Japanese First” slogan.
“The phrase was meant to express rebuilding Japanese people’s livelihoods by resisting globalism. I am not saying we should completely ban foreigners or that every foreigner should get out of Japan,” he said.
Despite denying accusations of xenophobia, Sanseito built its platform on nationalist appeals and fears of a “silent invasion” by immigrants.
Political analysts say the party’s message resonates with many Japanese voters facing a stagnant economy and a weakening yen, which have drawn record numbers of tourists and fuelled inflation.
Foreign residents in Japan reached a record 3.8 million last year, only about 3 percent of the population, but concerns about immigration remain present, even if not dominant.
NHK polling before the election showed that just 7 percent of respondents considered immigration as their main concern. Far more voters expressed anxiety over the country’s declining birthrate and rising food prices, particularly rice, which has doubled in cost over the past year.
“The buzz around Sanseito, especially here in the United States, stems from its populist and anti-foreign message. But it’s also a reflection of the LDP’s weakness,” said Joshua Walker, the president of the US-based Japan Society.
While Sanseito has drawn comparisons with far-right European groups such as Germany’s AfD and Reform UK, right-wing populism is a relatively new phenomenon in Japan, where such movements have historically struggled to gain traction.
Yet another first world country where the insurgent party comes from the right
It's a common issue everywhere, this is possible in many countries now because of the shift in demographic balance where elderly make a bigger voter bloc compared to rest. Whereby governments use pensions and benefits for the elderly as a source of easy votes while using policies that constantly undermine young populations with living cost concerns then foreigners make an easy target and at the same time something to associate their discontentment towards governments and economic situation. In a way these governments make immigrants partners in crime to their adherence to status quo that keeps getting more and more unsustainable when immigrants are often preferred because it is easier to exploit them with lower wages and basically no working rights while at the same time pretending they can't do anything about it because of international laws or "because of the woke" or something like that.
It’s the opposite in Guatemala where we saw a leftist surge. We have a much younger population that’s recently become more politically active after years of being exhausted with far-right rule.
"We have a much younger population that’s recently become more politically active after years of being exhausted with far-right rule."
God I hope the US either collapses for its own stupidity for bungling the most consequential election in world history or experiences a leftist surge that finally tells the Nazis and the GOP to [Redacted just in case, you know what I mean.]