JJapan

Younger Japanese drawn to anti-immigrant populist Sanseito party

  • June 26, 2025

TL;DR
The Sanseito party, a right-wing populist party in Japan, has gained support, particularly among younger Japanese, due to its anti-immigrant stance, opposition to COVID-19 measures, and calls for constitutional revision. The party’s charismatic leader, Sohei Kamiya, and its focus on nationalism and traditional culture resonate with supporters who feel Japan’s interests are being neglected. Concerns about economic malaise, foreign influence, and the erosion of Japanese culture contribute to the party’s appeal, despite its controversial positions.

by SkyInJapan

30 comments

  2. Not particularly surprising, just joining the rest of the world in going down the big scaredy pants, xenophobic,racist and ignorant rabbit hole.

  5. Just another example of people voting against their own self-interest. Have fun supporting a nation of retirees!

  7. > At a party gathering in Hashimoto, Wakayama Prefecture in February, about 25 attendees split into groups to discuss rewriting the 1947 Constitution. 

    Almost every follower they try to quote requests anonymity. This is not a political movement, this is a handful of angry, awkward teens and young adults on a quest to achieve legitimacy through shouting a slogan. A good D&D game at Yellow Submarine or a few date nights would utterly decimate their ranks.

  9. I get the anti-tourism sentiment because it’s problematic, but the anti-immigrant stance is setting up to accelerate the population decline. If Japanese people can’t produce more babies, they need immigration to sustain the economy and society.

  10. Pretty sure someone already posted this like three days ago and everyone in the comments pointed out how this is by no means a serious movement, but a group of like 20 people, only two of which were considered “young”, who both asked to remain anonymous.

    Stop spreading panic guys

  11. This is from Trump’s playbook and that of every other nationalist leader who stokes the fires of anti-immigration and anti-globalization economic anxiety. As Japan lets in more tourists and more immigrant workers, and as the country comes under more economic pressure from the demographic cliff it faces, populist leaders like this will only get more support.

    The question is what can we do? Education is one tool, currently being under-utilized to help young people better understand the state of the world and the economy, and be less inclined to look for simplistic solutions or the scapegoating of foreigners. It would also be great to have equally charismatic voices on the other side, although I think most of the “charisma” of such figures is that—like the leaders of new religions and cults—they’re telling people what they want to hear, rather than what is true.

  12. Nationalists are trying to exploit this trouble with tourism but at this moment I’m not worried the youth will turn to the right.

  14. Frankly this is a failure of the left in Japan just like it is in the US. Young people are pissed off at the raw deal previous generations are handing them and the only people even messaging effectively to them about it is far right loons who appeal to their outrage. If the Japanese leftist parties like CPJ were willing to stop being so decorous and instead be more combative in favor of the younger generations I think they’d also be seeing surging interest. If the example of CPUSA is anything to go by, the encouragement to go vote for normal establishment liberals was a big turn-off for young voters considering a third party in the US 2024 elections.

  17. Clickbait for Westerners lul

    It’s only 25 people, it’s nothing. Japan will still vote for LDP for years to come.

  20. Meh. The Japanese voting and political system is designed to keep them at bay. They have to start with changing that first. Their fight is at home with their own. They are just getting distracted as usual.

  21. Globalism is a poison that erodes the unique cultural aspects of any place, slowly turning it into the same homogeneous slop seen everywhere else.

    Countries are much less distinctly themselves than they were 20 years ago, and nothing like they were 50 years ago. Shitty global corporate brands are homogenizing food, fashion, architecture and everything else. Now mass demographic change is even in the process of homogenizing the people. It’s only a matter of time before everything is truly soulless.

    Unfortunately this process seems like it can only be delayed, but not avoided.

  22. These crazies were at my local station recently and when I walked past they started chatting shit about how Japan is such an easy country for foreigners to live in.

    I was like wut? Anyway, I had time to kill waiting for the bus so I went and got myself a starbucks and then just stood infront of them casually reading my Kindle and occasionally waving at them, blowing them kisses etc. They were so saying so much complete shit about foreigners at one point I even started laughing at them. I never actually spoke to them though, just mostly ignored / occasional gestures with a hi guys! / I love you kinda vibe that I was totally acting.

    Now idk what happened exactly but after about 20mins of this, they just randomly packed up their flags into a small kei truck thing and left. I felt like I’d somehow won a battle I didn’t even expect to win.

  23. The sweet little lie that “everything wrong with your life isn’t your fault” is just so tempting isn’t it…

    How gullible most people are.

  24. Guys, I have pretty bad anxiety, so please tell me honestly — is this something I should be worried about? Do you think these kinds of anti-immigration views are common? Or do most people actually *not* support this kind of attitude?

  27. It seems globally, in some form, the people of various countries around the world are fighting against a type of nasty anti-immigrant tyranny that is hateful & wants to keep us separated as a species. It’s infesting people all over, manifesting in some way to the region.

    I read the same of India as well this type of “right wingism” dominating minds. The fact this phenomenon is occurring at the same time globally across the world, to me is showing that it’s influence needs to be brought out to be put out.

  28. This is definitely a business.

    The current administration is pro-China and most of the foreigners come from Asia, so they can’t do this business, so they took advantage of the opportunity.

    It is not much different from Youtuber in the sense that if you gather people, you can make money.

  29. I feel like it’s time to walk around wearing a 尊王攘夷 shirt just to mess with people.

  30. They’re not just a “right-wing populist party”. They’re a group of racist conspiracy theorists.

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