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The Mainichi
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Mainichi
'Awakened conservatives' in Japan targeting foreigners
OITA (Kyodo) -- As the number of inbound tourists to Japan skyrockets while the population shrinks, the country is seeing a revival of right-wing populist parties with extremist positions on immigration controls as a key plank in their conservative ideology. On social media, ultranationalist Japanese have long targeted foreigners with hate speech. In Japanese cities, ultranationalist groups blast hate speech through loudspeakers. Now, new political parties are bringing similar messaging to mainstream politics and drawing support from the long-dominant conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Like Sanseito, a right-wing anti-immigration party founded in 2020, the ultranationalist Conservative Party of Japan led by novelist Naoki Hyakuta has been edging toward a harder line. In last year's lower house election, the CPJ won three seats despite being in existence for only about a year. In 2014, Hyakuta, then a governor for public broadcaster NHK, asserted the Nanjing massacre never happened. He faced a torrent of criticism last year after suggesting that to improve Japan's birth rate, women over 30 should be subjected to hysterectomies and that single women over 25 be prohibited from getting married. That hasn't stopped some women from backing his party. A 46-year-old housewife from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, who supports the CPJ, started watching videos featuring Hyakuta and CPJ Secretary General Kaori Arimoto on YouTube. Their words hit home. She especially identified with the party's stance toward foreign workers living in Japan. She says she is afraid when she sees foreigners hanging out in the local park, especially at night. "It's not like they have done anything to hurt me, but I'm too scared to walk at night. I used to do some walking, but I don't like to do it alone," the woman said with a downcast look. Asked not to be named, she said the "quantity and quality" of foreigners in Japan should be guaranteed. "If it is a foreigner who really cares about Japan, I welcome them," she said before adding, "They call it coexistence, but I think it will change the culture and atmosphere of the country." She had voted for the LDP but had never really thought about what conservatism meant. She now considers herself an "awakened conservative." The CPJ has been grabbing votes from the LDP, says Yoichi Shimada, a CPJ Diet member who was first elected to the House of Representatives last year. Shimada points to the ouster of lawmakers in former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP faction, the largest in the party until its dissolution. It included politicians implicated in a slush fund scandal who were not endorsed by the party in the Oct. 27 lower house poll. That led to a reduction in Abe's strong nationalistic influence, and conservative voters have been alienated from the LDP, currently led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who is widely considered a moderate, he suggested. "Mr. Abe said that the LDP would be finished if it lost 30 percent of its principled conservatives, Shimada said. "It's just as he warned." Another former LDP supporter who has turned to the CPJ is a 63-year-old self-employed woman from Kobe. She appreciated the close ties Abe built with U.S. President Donald Trump and Abe's tough diplomatic stance toward China and South Korea. She was stunned when Abe was assassinated in 2022. "I was really worried about where Japan was heading after that," she recalled. The woman, who also remained anonymous, said she feels uplifted when she hears Japan's national anthem, "Kimigayo." "It's in my blood. Always has been. If I was told to go on a suicide mission, I would go," she said. She believes Japan is rapidly collapsing under an influx of foreign workers and foreign acquisition of Japanese land. This led her to support the CPJ. Some observers suggest emerging right-wing populist parties have achieved a breakthrough in national politics. But Masaki Hata, an associate professor of political psychology at Osaka University of Economics, is uncomfortable with that term. "Sanseito has not improved its voter share since the 2022 upper house election," Hata said. "When people say 'breakthrough,' I would like to say, 'let's look at the structure of the elections more closely.'" Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications data show Sanseito garnered 3.33 percent of the votes in the proportional representation constituency in the 2022 upper house election. It netted 3.43 percent in the national proportional vote in last year's lower house election, according to preliminary results. Hata dismisses support for the CPJ as mainly backing for Takashi Kawamura, one of the party's leaders and former Nagoya mayor, but admits the LDP slush fund scandal helped Sanseito and the CPJ gain clout. According to exit polls by Kyodo News, about 2 percent of LDP supporters flowed to each of the two parties. While these new right-wing parties share anti-foreigner messaging with counterparts in Europe, especially France's National Rally led by Marine Le Pen, Hata believes their growth will be limited in Japan, which has a single-seat constituency system in which one candidate is elected from each electoral district. He emphasized, however, that not only Sanseito and the CPJ but conservative parties such as the Democratic Party for the People and the Japan Innovation Party have portrayed foreigners as enemies to gain support. "This is not something that is readily reported in the media. We have to sound the alarm on this," he said. (By Takara Sato)
Kyodo News
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Kyodo News
FEATURE: "Awakened conservatives" in Japan targeting foreigners
By Takara Sato, KYODO NEWS - Jun 26, 2025 - 11:27 | All, Japan, Feature As the number of inbound tourists to Japan skyrockets while the population shrinks, the country is seeing a revival of right-wing populist parties with extremist positions on immigration controls as a key plank in their conservative ideology. On social media, ultranationalist Japanese have long targeted foreigners with hate speech. In Japanese cities, ultranationalist groups blast hate speech through loudspeakers. Now, new political parties are bringing similar messaging to mainstream politics and drawing support from the long-dominant conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Like Sanseito, a right-wing anti-immigration party founded in 2020, the ultranationalist Conservative Party of Japan led by novelist Naoki Hyakuta has been edging toward a harder line. In last year's lower house election, the CPJ won three seats despite being in existence for only about a year. In 2014, Hyakuta, then a governor for public broadcaster NHK, asserted the Nanjing massacre never happened. He faced a torrent of criticism last year after suggesting that to improve Japan's birth rate, women over 30 should be subjected to hysterectomies and that single women over 25 be prohibited from getting married. That hasn't stopped some women from backing his party. A 46-year-old housewife from Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, who supports the CPJ, started watching videos featuring Hyakuta and CPJ Secretary General Kaori Arimoto on YouTube. Their words hit home. She especially identified with the party's stance toward foreign workers living in Japan. She says she is afraid when she sees foreigners hanging out in the local park, especially at night. "It's not like they have done anything to hurt me, but I'm too scared to walk at night. I used to do some walking, but I don't like to do it alone," the woman said with a downcast look. Asked not to be named, she said the "quantity and quality" of foreigners in Japan should be guaranteed. "If it is a foreigner who really cares about Japan, I welcome them," she said before adding, "They call it coexistence, but I think it will change the culture and atmosphere of the country." She had voted for the LDP but had never really thought about what conservatism meant. She now considers herself an "awakened conservative." The CPJ has been grabbing votes from the LDP, says Yoichi Shimada, a CPJ Diet member who was first elected to the House of Representatives last year. Shimada points to the ouster of lawmakers in former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's LDP faction, the largest in the party until its dissolution. It included politicians implicated in a slush fund scandal who were not endorsed by the party in the Oct. 27 lower house poll. That led to a reduction in Abe's strong nationalistic influence, and conservative voters have been alienated from the LDP, currently led by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba who is widely considered a moderate, he suggested. "Mr. Abe said that the LDP would be finished if it lost 30 percent of its principled conservatives, Shimada said. "It's just as he warned." Another former LDP supporter who has turned to the CPJ is a 63-year-old self-employed woman from Kobe. She appreciated the close ties Abe built with U.S. President Donald Trump and Abe's tough diplomatic stance toward China and South Korea. She was stunned when Abe was assassinated in 2022. "I was really worried about where Japan was heading after that," she recalled. The woman, who also remained anonymous, said she feels uplifted when she hears Japan's national anthem, "Kimigayo." "It's in my blood. Always has been. If I was told to go on a suicide mission, I would go," she said. She believes Japan is rapidly collapsing under an influx of foreign workers and foreign acquisition of Japanese land. This led her to support the CPJ. Some observers suggest emerging right-wing populist parties have achieved a breakthrough in national politics. But Masaki Hata, an associate professor of political psychology at Osaka University of Economics, is uncomfortable with that term. "Sanseito has not improved its voter share since the 2022 upper house election," Hata said. "When people say 'breakthrough,' I would like to say, 'let's look at the structure of the elections more closely.'" Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications data show Sanseito garnered 3.33 percent of the votes in the proportional representation constituency in the 2022 upper house election. It netted 3.43 percent in the national proportional vote in last year's lower house election, according to preliminary results. Hata dismisses support for the CPJ as mainly backing for Takashi Kawamura, one of the party's leaders and former Nagoya mayor, but admits the LDP slush fund scandal helped Sanseito and the CPJ gain clout. According to exit polls by Kyodo News, about 2 percent of LDP supporters flowed to each of the two parties. While these new right-wing parties share anti-foreigner messaging with counterparts in Europe, especially France's National Rally led by Marine Le Pen, Hata believes their growth will be limited in Japan, which has a single-seat constituency system in which one candidate is elected from each electoral district. He emphasized, however, that not only Sanseito and the CPJ but conservative parties such as the Democratic Party for the People and the Japan Innovation Party have portrayed foreigners as enemies to gain support. "This is not something that is readily reported in the media. We have to sound the alarm on this," he said. Related articles: FEATURE: Younger Japanese drawn to anti-immigrant populist Sanseito
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
Trump's ‘Art Of The Deal' Is Flopping In Asia
US President Donald Trump speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, June 26, 2025. Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg As President Donald Trump tries to live up to his 'Art of the Deal' persona, he's finding Asia isn't quite buying it. Look no further than Japan, which Trump seemed to assume would be an easy mark. It wasn't a totally irrational expectation, considering how the Japanese leader that Trump 1.0 encountered genuflected to Washington early and often. Then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe even nominated Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize. Today's prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, has proven to be far less compliant. Ishiba's in no hurry, for example, to give Trump the win he so desperately desires. After 159 days in office, Trump has yet to seal a notable free-trade deal — despite his team promising 90 in 90 days. The rather perfunctory agreement with the U.K. — with which the U.S. has a trade surplus — hardly counts as a reordering of an economic relationship. Trump seemed to put a whole lot of eggs in the Japanese basket. Team Ishiba is dragging its feet and pushing back in ways Trump World didn't see coming. Nor is South Korea rushing to sign a pact. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo argues that Seoul wants to be exempted from U.S. tariffs on cars, steel and other key sectors. Because what's the point otherwise? Yeo stresses that Seoul wants to pivot from tariffs to forward-looking cooperation with the U.S. on manufacturing and advanced technologies. That's code for once Trump lifts his import taxes, which would be a show of good faith, Korea is willing to talk. India, meanwhile, is angling for Trump World to exempt its economy from sectoral tariffs on autos and steel and reciprocal taxes. In other words, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a mutually beneficial deal, not a Trump shakedown. And then there's China, which continues to outmaneuver Trump in ways that are painful to watch. Notice that as Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, claims the U.S. and China have finalized a trade understanding, whatever that means, officials in Beijing are saying little. Fake-it-until-you-make-it works in Silicon Valley. In global prime time, as top economies negotiate, not so much. Japan, for example, has been plenty surprised here and there by Trump World claiming a bilateral trade deal was days away. Korea, too. Enter Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who's clearly not playing around. Early on, Xi irked Trump World by asking to see its list of proposed concessions. Trump's move to slap 145% tariffs on China didn't buy Washington much goodwill. Nor is today's 30% tax the incentive to negotiate that Trump seems to think. The thing is, Xi has Trump's number. The most consequential Chinese leader since Mao Zedong knows how desperate Trump is for a deal with China, any deal at all. Given the pain the tariffs are causing — including high inflation — Trump needs a 'grand bargain' with Beijing to save face. Will Xi help Trump out? Odds are, the truce Lutnick is hyping is a face-saving exercise that does little, if anything, to alter trade dynamics between the two biggest economies. Xi, after all, knows Trump needs a deal more than he does. Why not drag things out to China's benefit? Cosmetic trade deals are Trump's thing, after all. As long as he can claim to his supporters that he's saving the day, all's great. That was certainly the dynamic during the Trump 1.0 years from 2017- 2021. These going-through-the-motions trade talks are more likely than epochal realignments of frameworks governing exports and imports. China knows this, and so does the rest of the Asian establishment. So, why not take your time and get the better of a desperate Trump White House? Asia's done a remarkable job navigating around Trump 2.0. Why change course now?
Zawya
a day ago
- Business
- Zawya
Japan's plan to give China a run for its money in Africa
Japan is seeking to grow investments in Africa against raising the stakes against China, the continent's leading trading partner. A Japanese trade official said that Tokyo is supporting its companies to grow their business in Africa and develop trade ties across a continent where has traditionally been seen as a key donor. For Africa, Japan's push to recalibrate their relations comes at a critical time. Key sectors of interest are critical minerals, base metals and rare earths. Mobilising private investment has become more pressing following US President Donald Trump's punitive tariffs, slashing of US aid and China's growing influence in Africa, for whom it recently announced tariff-free market access. Tsujisaka Takako, deputy director at Japan's Ministry of Trade, said at the Kenyan Business Week at the Japan 2025 Expo in Osaka that Tokyo is keen to rival China in Africa.'There are many initiatives to support Japanese companies in promoting their business in every way. First is the Africa-Pacific Private Economic Forum. In Africa, it is held every three years with the participation of high-level officials and private sector representatives to promote and strengthen business ties between Japan and Africa,' she said. 'The launch of the said forum was originally announced by former Prime Minister Abe at the Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad VI) in Kenya in August 2016. She stated that the Japanese government is supporting this through initiatives like the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) and the Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad 9) forum, which will take place later in August this year. The Ticad 9, scheduled for August 20-22, 2025, in Yokohama. For the tenth year running China is Africa's biggest trading partner, reaching $296 billion in 2024, according to official data, with 60 percent of the volume favouring China. In 2024, Japan's trade with Africa reached $25 billion, with Japan selling goods worth $3 billion more than it bought from Africa. Both run triennial summits with Africa (Ticad for Japan and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation for China) and have pledged some $30 billion over their respective three years since the last summits. Japan though, traditionally sends more development aid to Africa than China. Japanese companies are increasingly focusing on sectors like manufacturing, critical minerals, base metals, car exports, as well as introducing technologies like preventive medical care. A key area of focus is infrastructure development in Africa, with Japanese companies and financial institutions providing capital and expertise in sectors like energy, transportation, and telecommunications. Japan's net external assets reached a record high in 2024 as its investors and companies continued to load up on holdings abroad. So far, only a trickle of that has reached Africa, with the continent receiving about 0.5 percent of Japan's foreign direct investment, something Tokyo is keen to improve on.'Kenya ranks top in Africa as the country with the largest number of Japanese companies. There are more than 120 Japanese companies doing business in Kenya and we are putting in place initiatives to invest more in Africa,' Ms Takako said. Kenya's Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui pledged ease of doing business and policies, infrastructure and legal frameworks that facilitate seamless operations for both local and international investors.'The African Continental Free Trade Area provides a gateway to an African market of an estimated 1.4 billion people and a combined nominal GDP of $2.78 billion as reported by the International Monetary Fund in 2024. By investing in Kenya, Japanese businesses stand to benefit from an expansive market,' the minister said. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Wales Online
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
BBC show We Might Regret This begins second series filming
BBC show We Might Regret This begins second series filming The first season of the BBC Two show - written by Kyla Harris and Lee Getty - followed a 30-year-old disabled Canadian woman called Freya The second series will follow Abe and Freya planning their wedding (Image: BBC ) Filming for the second series of the hit BBC comedy drama We Might Regret This has begun. The first season of the BBC Two show - written by Kyla Harris and Lee Getty - followed a 30-year-old disabled Canadian woman called Freya (Kyla) as she moved to London to live with her fiancé Abe (Darren Boyd), but as she cannot find an appropriate personal assistant to provide constant care for her, she enlists her best friend Jo (Elena Saurel) to take the job. It received critical acclaim, for its approach to disabilities and how it highlighted the difficulties wheelchair users face on a daily basis. In the new season - which is set in London - viewers will follow Freya and Abe on their "high-stress" wedding planning journey, and the audience will learn that the couple's views on marriage - and their visions for the ceremony - do not always match. Freya and Abe's plans are complicated further by her agents, The Olivias (Emma Sidi and Hanako Footman) - who get the couple to do a wedding-themed content creation campaign focused on disability inclusion. Viewers will also see Abe address his complicated history with Jo, as well as his trust issues after he sees Freya and her assistant together. Article continues below Detectorists star Sophie Thompson is joining the cast of We Might Regret This as Beanie McElroy - a designer who wants to help Freya with creating a wedding dress. Miranda legend Sally Phillips (Jane), Sex Education star Edward Bluemel (Levi), Call the Midwife actress Aasiya Shah (Ty) and Ghosts star Lolly Adefope (Susan) will all be reprising their roles from the first series. Kyla and Lee - who were nominated in the Emerging Talent category at the 2025 BAFTA TV Craft Awards - said: "We're beyond excited to be back on set with series two of We Might Regret This! "Expect more laughs, hard truths and nipples." We Might Regret This is being produced by Roughcut. Rebecca Murrell, Executive Producer for the company, added: "So delighted to be back in production on We Might Regret This. Article continues below "Series two reboots our knotty relationships with drama, hope and hilarity."
