5 days ago
Kitakyushu group rallies against anti-foreigner sentiment in Japan upper house race
KITAKYUSHU -- About 70 members of a citizens' group here called for an inclusive society at a recent demonstration ahead of the July 20 House of Councillors election
"Heiwa o Akiramenai Kitakyushu Net" (Kitakyushu network for not giving up peace) members took to the streets in Kitakyushu's Kokurakita Ward on July 13, holding up signs with messages including, "Toward a society that excludes no one."
In campaigning for the upper house election, the right-wing populist party Sanseito, which promotes a "Japanese First" agenda, is arguing that the increase in foreign workers is hindering wage growth for Japanese citizens and calling for restrictions on accepting foreign labor. The Liberal Democratic Party, the Democratic Party for the People, Nippon Ishin (the Japan Innovation Party) and the Conservative Party of Japan have also pledged to tighten immigration policies.
Regarding the exclusionary agendas seen in the upper house race campaign, Kentoku Maeda, a lawyer and the head of the network, told the Mainichi Shimbun, "They're caused by the spread of false information and rumors, such as the idea of 'special privileges for foreigners.' It's shallow and unacceptable that parties are competing over exclusionary policies as if being triggered by this."
Hiromi Suenaga, chairperson of Union Kitakyushu, which supports foreign technical interns, said, "I want people to understand the reality that many low-wage foreign workers are supporting the daily lives of Japanese citizens in sectors like nursing care and construction."
