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2025 September 10 - 16 TOP3 [POLITICS]

LDP at the root of xenophobia in Japan

Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru, at a press conference on September 7 when he announced his resignation stated, “If the Liberal Democratic Party loses public trust, Japanese politics will drift into facile populism.” This remark likely reflected his awareness of the growth of the “Sanseito” party whose slogan is “Japanese First.”

PM Ishiba asserts that the LDP is a “conservative party dedicated to tolerance and inclusion.” His assertion implies that if the LDP loses its strength, the Sanseito party will run rampant.

However, the origins of the Sanseito Party’s xenophobic policies, such as tightening regulations on foreigners and restricting their rights, lie within the LDP itself.

Discrimination against Korean residents, which dates back to the prewar era, persists to this day because successive LDP governments have refused to admit to the illegality of Japan’s past colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula and have rejected offering sincere apologies and compensation in a form and amount desired by the victims. This stance became particularly pronounced under the second Abe government, which advocated “breaking away from the postwar regime.” PM Abe, in his 2015 statement marking 70 years since the end of WWII, stated that future generations should not have to go on apologizing endlessly for Japan’s past wartime actions.

Furthermore, Japan’s immigration administration and refugee regulations have been facing criticism both domestically and internationally due to numerous issues. Foreigners who should be recognized as refugees are excluded.

The Kishida government in 2023 amended the Immigration Control Act to make it possible to deport overstayers, even those in the process of applying for asylum, to their own countries. The following year, the government added a provision to the law so that Japan can revoke the permanent residency status of foreign nationals if they are in arrears with their taxes and/or social insurance premiums. Meanwhile, the Technical Intern Training Program, which has been a breeding ground for serious human rights violations, remains intact.

The Ishiba government in July of this year established a new organization in the Cabinet Secretariat to oversee foreigner-related policies. It primarily addresses issues like crimes committed by foreigners, which could potentially fuel discrimination against non-Japanese nationals.

In reality, LDP politics is diametrically opposed to “tolerance and inclusion,” having fostered an atmosphere conducive to the rise of xenophobia.