{"id":289748,"date":"2025-07-25T05:18:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/289748\/"},"modified":"2025-07-25T05:18:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:18:08","slug":"japanese-first-breakthrough-by-rightwing-populists-sparks-fears-of-anti-foreigner-backlash-in-japan-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/289748\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Japanese First\u2019: breakthrough by rightwing populists sparks fears of anti-foreigner backlash in Japan | Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The emergence of a rightwing populist party in Japan\u2019s upper house election<\/a> on Sunday running on a Trump-style \u201cJapanese First\u201d slogan has raised concerns of a backlash against the growing foreign presence in the country.<\/p>\n

The party, Sanseito, has successfully tapped into unease around an expanding immigrant population and a huge influx of tourists after the pandemic. But many see the underlying cause as economic insecurity among a population that both understands the need for overseas labour and visitors, and feels anxiety at the changes they bring and symbolise.<\/p>\n

Sanseito\u2019s new contingent of 14 upper house lawmakers, up from a single seat in the previous election, is undoubtedly a breakthrough, but still leaves it a minor force in the 248-seat chamber. Its success comes against the backdrop of a record 3.8 million foreign residents<\/a> as of 2024, tourist visits<\/a> surpassing 20 million in the first quarter of this year, and Tokyo property prices rapidly rising due to wealthy foreign buyers.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo put it simply, I feel like the Japanese are starting to lose confidence,\u201d says Masafumi Usui, a social psychology professor at Niigata Seiryo University. \u201cWhen you\u2019re living a comfortable life and are respected by others, then you feel secure, and you\u2019re more open. But when people feel that their survival is under threat or in crisis, they start wanting to protect their existing culture. I think that leads to things like patriotism and xenophobia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adjusting to a new reality<\/p>\n

Usui notes there was little anti-foreign sentiment during Japan\u2019s bubble economy in the 1980s, when it was seen as a powerhouse to be looked up to and learned from. But as its GDP growth stagnated and neighbours such as China and South Korea began to leave it behind in sectors from electronics to shipbuilding, he suggests Japan has struggled to adjust to its new reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think people who openly engage in hate speech like \u2018get out of Japan\u2019 are still a minority,\u201d says Usui. \u201cBut more and more people have started saying, \u2018Why are we spending money on foreigners? Spend it on Japanese people instead.\u2019 And I think that\u2019s what Sanseito\u2019s \u2018Japanese First\u2019 slogan in the election really tapped into. It struck a chord with people who feel like they need to protect Japanese culture and way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Japan\u2019s foreign-born population only accounts for about 3% of its residents. One of the contradictions is that to grow its economy Japan needs to increase that figure. Sanseito\u2019s answer to the chronic labour shortage is automation and AI, but even those wary of immigrants acknowledge that for the immediate future, more foreign workers are essential.<\/p>\n

Tourists walk through the Shinjuku entertainment district in Tokyo. Photograph: Franck Robichon\/EPA<\/p>\n

There are around a dozen Vietnamese at the company where Akio Ono installs air conditioners, \u201cI get on well with them, most of the guys do. But when they go to customers\u2019 homes, they still have to go with a Japanese colleague as there is still prejudice, as well as language issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reports of crimes by foreigners, often circulated on social media, have also raised shackles, even though police statistics show immigrants commit proportionally fewer offences than the native population. Ono believes news stories about Vietnamese and Chinese theft rings are \u201ca big part of what is driving the concerns about immigration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the guys I work with but if I see a group of Vietnamese or Chinese walking around, I find them a bit scary. I think a lot of Japanese people feel that way,\u201d adds Ono, who nevertheless voted for the left-wing Reiwa party.<\/p>\n

Decline from the glory days<\/p>\n

Toyonori Sugita, who runs a metalworking factory just south of Tokyo, leans right but also rejected Sanseito. He sees the electorate\u2019s main concerns as the economy and the sales tax, which Sanseito promised to cut.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can they actually do to realise \u2018Japanese First,\u2019 make the Chinese people who bought land return it?\u201d questions Sugita.<\/p>\n

Precision-machining machines for automotive parts at a factory at Kyowa Industrial Co. in Takasaki. To grow its economy, Japan needs more immigrants. Photograph: Issei Kato\/Reuters<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had Vietnamese working here under the government\u2019s Technical Intern Training Program for about three years,\u201d he says. \u201cThey mostly work hard and are earnest; unlike some Japanese, who complain a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tourist boom has also aroused conflicting emotions. While the money spent by visitors on luxury accommodation and high-end dining that now seem cheap by global standards boosts the economy, it is a stark reminder of Japan\u2019s decline from its glory days.<\/p>\n

Usui points out that Japanese people hadn\u2019t really been conscious of the gradual fall in relative prices over the last few decades until recent media coverage of big spending foreign tourists<\/a> drove the point home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that Japan has become a cheap country. You can\u2019t deny that wages are higher overseas or that there are 10,000-yen [\u00a350] sea urchin lunches aimed at foreigners. So, in order to protect their emotional wellbeing and maintain their sense of self-worth, people cling to the idea that Japanese culture is the best.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The emergence of a rightwing populist party in Japan\u2019s upper house election on Sunday running on a Trump-style…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":289749,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[12,26],"class_list":{"0":"post-289748","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-news","9":"tag-world"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114912185805080210","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=289748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/289748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=289748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=289748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=289748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}