Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost ground in the parliamentary elections on Sunday, with new right-wing populist groups making gains. The results may mark a shift in Japan’s politics, which has remained stable for decades.Out of the 124 upper house seats contested, two-thirds went to opposition parties. However, the main gains did not come from the traditional liberal opposition but from new parties that appealed to younger voters with nationalist messages.Among these was Sanseito, a populist party led by Sohei Kamiya, a former supermarket manager and English teacher. Kamiya said before the election that he was inspired by US President Donald Trump’s “bold political style.”Half of the 248-member upper house was up for reelection. The Democratic Party for the People (DPP) and Sanseito were the main winners among the nationalist groups. The DPP increased its seats from four to 17, and Sanseito grew from one to 14, according to interim results reported by Japanese media.Sanseito began on YouTube during the Covid-19 pandemic, where it spread conspiracy theories about vaccines and global elites, as per a report by the South China Morning Post. The party entered mainstream politics with its “Japanese First” campaign.“The phrase Japanese First was meant to express rebuilding Japanese people’s livelihoods by resisting globalism. I am not saying that we should completely ban foreigners or that every foreigner should get out of Japan,” Sohei Kamiya said in an interview with Nippon Television after the election, as cited by the SCMP.Sanseito’s platform includes opposition to vaccines and globalism and support for traditional gender roles.Japan’s ageing population is growing alongside a rise in foreign-born residents, which hit a record of about 3.8 million last year, or around 3 per cent of the total population.The LDP, led by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, and its junior coalition partner Komeito, needed 50 more seats to maintain their majority along with the 75 seats they already held. They won 47, three short of a majority and 19 fewer than before the vote.The outcome follows the coalition’s earlier defeat in the lower house in October, making it a minority in both houses for the first time since the LDP was formed in 1955.Despite the result, Ishiba said he would stay on. He said he does not want to create a political vacuum during a time when Japan is facing issues such as US tariff threats. However, he may face internal pressure to resign or form a new coalition.The loss does not immediately lead to a change in government, since the upper house cannot pass a no-confidence motion. But it adds uncertainty about Ishiba’s leadership and Japan’s political direction.
