Who Are India's True Allies?
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Yahoo
6 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The rise of the far-right 'Japanese First' party
For three years, a once fringe opposition party held just one seat in Japan's 248-seat upper house. But on Sunday, Sanseito emerged as one of the biggest winners of Japan's election - walking away with 14 seats. The party was born in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, where it gained prominence with YouTube videos that spread conspiracy theories about vaccinations. More recently, it has built its platform on a nationalist "Japanese First" agenda, which has warned against a "silent invasion of foreigners". Sanseito's rise in popularity reflects growing unease over immigration and overtourism - issues the ruling government also sought to address with a new committee it created days before the election. But do these gains signal an enduring shift to the right in Japan? What is the 'Japanese First' policy? Launching in early 2020, Sanseito gained attention among conservatives with its series of YouTube videos centred on anti-vaccine and anti-masking rhetoric. It won its first seat in the upper house in 2022, following a campaign in which it fashioned itself as an "anti-globalist" party. Supporters at rallies spoke of a world where a cabal of globalists and financial institutions were conspiring to lord over powerless citizens. In its recent campaign, the party made populist pledges such as consumption tax cuts and an increase in child benefits. But it's been most well known for its nationalist "Japanese First" platform rallying against immigrants, with its leader Sohei Kamiya previously saying that he had drawn inspiration from US President Donald Trump's "bold political style". Sanseito's promises have won it the support of young conservatives online - cutting into the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) conservative support base. The weekend's election result also underscores voters' frustration with the LDP's leader and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has struggled to inspire confidence as Japan struggles against economic headwinds, a cost-of-living crisis and trade negotiations with the United States. Jeffrey Hall, a lecturer in Japanese Studies at Kanda University of International Studies, says support for more right-wing parties had drawn conservative voters away from the LDP. "Prime Minister Ishiba is considered not conservative enough by many supporters of the former Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe," he says. "They think that he just doesn't have the nationalistic views on history, he doesn't have the strong views against China that Abe had." Mr Hall adds that the party's win means "for the next six years, [Sanseito] are going to feel a lot less restrained and a lot freer... [to express its] conspiracy theories, anti-foreign statements, very strong revisionist views about history". But despite its gains this election, Sanseito still falls short of the minimum number of seats required to submit budget bills in the upper house. And in the more powerful lower house, it holds just three seats. Who is Sohei Kamiya? Kamiya, 47, was at one point of his political career a member of the long-ruling LDP. During the 2012 general election, the party's then-president Shinzo Abe personally campaigned on his behalf - though he eventually lost the race. Kamiya launched Sanseito in March 2020, and was the party's only candidate to be elected into the upper chamber in 2022. The former Self-Defence Force reservist has openly credited Trump for shaping his approach, and has railed against the political and financial elite. "Under globalism, multinational companies have changed Japan's policies for their own purposes," he said at a recent rally in Kagoshima. "If we fail to resist this foreign pressure, Japan will become a colony!" Earlier this year, he faced backlash after calling gender equality policies a mistake, saying they would encourage women to work and prevent them from having more children. When asked about the party's appeal to men, he said it might be due to him being "hot-blooded", claiming "that resonates more with men". Following Sunday's election, Kamiya vowed to secure "50 to 60 seats" in future elections so that "[the party's] policies will finally become reality". He also appeared to try to walk back some of his earlier statements, clarifying in an interview with Nippon TV after the vote that his nationalist policy was not meant to "completely ban foreigners". Why is there so much anger over immigration? The number of foreign residents in Japan hit a record 3.8 million at the end of 2024. That figure marks an increase up 10.5% from the previous year, according to immigration authorities - but still makes up just 3% of the country's total population. Tourist numbers also hit an all-time high of about 36.9 million last year, according to the National Tourism Organisation. Sanseito has seized on the growing unease over immigration, blaming the ruling LDP for policies that have allowed more foreigners into the country. Anti-immigration rhetoric often surfaces in countries dealing with a weakening economy, says Mr Hall. "Misbehaviour and bad manners by some tourists" have added fuel to the fire, creating an impression of a "big foreign problem", he adds. "[Sanseito] tapped into the frustration over immigration and the perhaps unwarranted feeling that immigrants were rising too much in number," he says. Japan has traditionally been wary of immigration, but faced with an ageing population, the government had eased immigration laws in recent years in an effort to boost manpower. Some Japanese people have been frustrated by the influx of foreigners and have blamed them for rising crime and inflation, among other things. On Tuesday, less than a week before the election, authorities set up a new committee aimed at easing citizens' concerns, pledging to shape a "society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals." But it now appears to have come too late - and Sanseito's ascent may signal a turning point in Japan's political landscape. "I think for years now, people said Japan doesn't have a populist right, or doesn't have a populist far right," says Mr Hall. "But I think [the result] has proven that there is a possibility for this to happen in Japan, and it's probably here to stay."
Business Insider
9 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Russia's high military recruitment bonuses are straining its economy
Russia's high recruitment bonuses to sustain its war effort in Ukraine are straining the country's economy, according to a recent report from the Institute for the Study of War. Costs have ballooned for the bonuses and the labor expansion in the defense industry, Last July, Putin signed a decree more than doubling the standard enlistment bonus from 195,000 rubles to 400,000 rubles — nearly five times the country's average monthly wage. The head count drive has placed the military in direct competition with civilian industries for labor, driving up wages and prices, particularly in services, while Russia continues to pour funds into its war effort. "Russia cannot indefinitely replace its forces at the current casualty rate without an involuntary reserve mobilization, which Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown great reluctance to order, nor can it sustain increasingly high payments to recruits, which the Russian economy cannot afford," wrote the ISW analysts. Russia has suffered over 950,000 injuries and deaths in the war, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in June. The ISW analysts warned that Moscow is "burning the candle at both ends" by loosening monetary policy to prop up growth and expanding wartime spending. The combination, they said, risks further destabilizing the economy. Russia's "unsustainably high" payments to soldiers are likely to erode consumer purchasing power, weaken the ruble over time, and deepen macroeconomic instability, the ISW analysts wrote. The cost of Russia's war-driven economic boom Putin's administration beat its recruitment goals last year, largely by offering lucrative bonuses. Some regional governments even offered bonuses on par with the US military's sign-on payments. That approach helped fuel short-term growth. Economists at Bruegel, a Brussels-based think tank, wrotethat military spending and bonus-driven consumption were key drivers of Russia's GDP growth in 2023 and 2024. As the economy shifted toward war, the defense sector and wartime consumption benefited most. But by mid-2023, the economy began overheating, prompting the central bank to raise interest rates repeatedly. "Still, with much lending occurring at subsidised rates and the military-industrial complex shielded by public procurement, the rate hikes primarily impacted non-war-related sectors," the Bruegel economists added. Even the military-industrial sector showed signs of stagnation by late 2024. "The economy had butted up against its supply-side constraints," they wrote. With the Bank of Russia directing credit to military-linked sectors, other parts of the economy are increasingly being squeezed. Meanwhile, structural weaknesses in Russia's war economy persist even if it has appeared to be resilient so far, thanks to the influx of war-related spending. "Russia has lost major export markets for its defence products, faces rising costs from sanctions evasion and suffers from weak labour and migration policies — all of which compound its structural challenges," the Bruegel economists wrote.
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Japan's Ishiba says he'll stay in office to tackle inflation and US tariffs despite election loss
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday he will stay in office to tackle challenges such as rising prices and high U.S. tariffs after a weekend election defeat left his coalition with a minority in both parliamentary chambers. Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote. The coalition is now a minority in both houses of the Diet, or parliament, though the LDP is still the leading party. Ishiba said he takes the result seriously but that his priority is to avoid creating a political vacuum and to tackle impending challenges, including the Aug. 1 deadline for a tariff deal with the U.S. 'While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,' Ishiba said. 'Challenges such as global situation and natural disaster won't wait for a better political situation." The prime minister said he hopes to reach a mutually beneficial deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Sunday's vote comes after Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his unpopular government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages. Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of U.S. autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. Solve the daily Crossword
