The Sanseitō party, known for its slogan "Japan First," is growing in popularity. It promotes strong conservative views, which are gaining some support ahead of the July 20 Upper House election. However, the party has also faced criticism, with concerns raised about some of its positions. As a national political party, it's being held accountable for what it says.
In the June 22 Tokyo local election, 3 out of 4 Sanseitō candidates won seats. Recent national polls show support for the party rising to about 6–7% in proportional voting.
Party leader Sohei Kamiya said in a July 1 TV interview that the Tokyo election helped raise their profile, and the "Japan First" slogan is attracting attention.
Sanseitō was founded in April 2020 by Kamiya and others who said there were no existing parties they wanted to support, so they created their own. In the 2022 Upper House election, they ran candidates in all 45 districts, used YouTube to gain support, and won one seat with about 1.77 million votes. In the 2024 Lower House election, they earned around 1.87 million votes and won three seats. Recently, a former member of the Japan Innovation Party, Mizuho Umemura, joined Sanseitō, bringing their total number of national lawmakers to five. They also have about 150 local assembly members.
For the upcoming Upper House election, Sanseitō aims to win at least six seats. They plan to run candidates in all 45 local districts plus 10 in the proportional block.
The party’s funding is strong. According to their 2023 financial report, they had around 2 billion yen, including 700 million yen carried over from the previous year. They raised about 430 million yen through events and selling party merchandise.
by MagazineKey4532