July 5, 2025

In the House of Councilors election campaign which officially commenced on July 3, a far-right, xenophobic trend is arising as shown by the “Japanese first” slogan of the radical right-wing populist party “Sanseito”.

The Liberal Democratic Party in its election platform included a policy to achieve a “zero illegal foreigners” goal. Sanseito head Kamiya Sohei in his campaign speech said, “Immigrants who fail to find decent jobs will become overstayers and will commit crimes like shoplifting, leading to deterioration of public security.”

In addition, on social media, there are many groundless posts, such as these: “Foreign nationals receive preferential treatment in applying for public assistance” and “The increase in immigration is threatening Japan’s public safety.”

How is it in reality? Government data show that foreign families accounted for about 3% of all households relying on public livelihood assistance. The number of crimes committed by foreigners decreased to 15,541 in 2022 after hitting a peak of 43,622 in 2005. Foreigners made up 5.3% of the total number of criminals arrested.

The reason why xenophobic attitudes run rampant without regard to facts is that under the widening of economic inequality, it is easy to vent dissatisfaction with the current economic situation on foreigners.

People are becoming increasingly anxious due to the cost of living crisis and rice shortages in addition to continued difficulties in maintaining their livelihoods stemming from the 30-year-long economic stagnation in Japan known as the “Lost 30 Years”. This situation has been brought about under the Liberal Democratic-Komei government which has implemented anti-people policies placing importance on large corporations’ interests and on U.S. demands. The LDP-Komei government has given preferential tax breaks to big businesses, reduced its spending on education and welfare, and pushed forward with military expansion under the advice of the U.S.

Anti-foreignism serves to mask underlying issues in people’s hardships and cause discrimination and division that keep those issues from being resolved. Objectively, the role of xenophobia is nothing less than the preservation and expansion of the LDP mismanagement of politics.