Anti-foreigner sentiments are on the rise across Japan

Outside a Tokyo train station, hundreds gathered to hear Sohei Kamiya, leader of the burgeoning nationalist party Sanseito, launch into a critique of Japan’s expanding foreign population. Amidst accusations of racism from opponents, separated by police and bodyguards, Kamiya retorted, insisting his views were merely “common sense”. Despite its current minor party status, Sanseito saw notable gains in July’s parliamentary election. Its “Japanese First” agenda, championing anti-globalism, anti-immigration, and anti-liberalism, is now resonating more widely ahead of a crucial ruling party vote on Saturday, which is expected to determine Japan’s next prime minister.

Such anti-immigrant policies, often used by populists to target easy scapegoats, are increasingly appealing to a Japanese populace grappling with stagnant wages, escalating living costs, and a pessimistic outlook for the future.

“Many Japanese are frustrated by these problems, though we are too reserved to speak out. Mr. Kamiya is spelling them all out for us,” said Kenzo Hagiya, a retiree in the audience who said the “foreigner problem” is one of his biggest concerns. The populist surge comes as Japan, a traditionally insular nation that values conformity and uniformity, sees a record surge of foreigners needed to bolster its shrinking workforce.In September, angry protests fueled by social media misinformation about a looming flood of African immigrants quashed a government-led exchange programme between four Japanese municipalities and African nations. Even the governing party, which has promoted foreign labor and tourism, now calls for tighter restrictions on foreigners, but without showing how Japan, which has one of the world’s fastest-aging and fastest-dwindling populations, can economically stay afloat without them.

“We only want to protect the peaceful lives and public safety of the Japanese,” he said at the rally in Yokohama, a major residential area for foreigners. Japanese people tolerate foreigners who respect the “Japanese way,” but those who cling to their own customs are not accepted because they intimidate, cause stress and anger the Japanese, he said. Kamiya said the government was allowing foreign workers into the country only to benefit big Japanese businesses.

“Why do foreigners come first when the Japanese are struggling to make ends meet and suffering from fear?” Kamiya asked. “We are just saying the obvious in an obvious way. Attacking us for racial discrimination is wrong.” Kamiya’s anti-immigrant message is gaining traction

All five candidates competing in Saturday’s governing Liberal Democratic Party leadership vote to replace outgoing Shigeru Ishiba as prime minister are vowing tougher measures on foreigners.

One of the favourites, former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, a hardline ultra-conservative, was criticised for championing unconfirmed claims that foreign tourists abused deer at a park in Nara, her hometown. Takaichi later said she wanted to convey the growing sense of anxiety and anger among many Japanese about “outrageous” foreigners.

During the July election campaign, far-right candidates insulted Japan’s about 2,000 Kurds, many of whom fled persecution in Turkey.

A Kurdish citizen, who escaped to Japan as a child after his father faced arrest for complaining about military hazing, said he and his fellow Kurds have had to deal with people calling them criminals on social media. Japan has a history of discrimination against ethnic Koreans and Chinese, dating from the colonialist era in the first half of the 20th century. Some of that discrimination persists today, with insults and attacks targeting Chinese immigrants, investors and their businesses.