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Japan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
In Upper House election, Nippon Ishin faces key test in birthplace Osaka
Nippon Ishin no Kai faces a make-or-break situation in its birthplace of Osaka Prefecture in the upcoming House of Councilors election, as the opposition party struggles with dwindling support. Komeito, the junior partner in Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's ruling coalition, is also in a crucial fight in the prefectural constituency in the July 20 election for the upper chamber of parliament, as it is facing pressure from an upstart political party. Nippon Ishin, Komeito and the Liberal Democratic Party, the dominant partner in the ruling bloc, have won the four seats of the constituency in the past three Upper House races, but the landscape could be set to change in the upcoming poll. "All (other) political parties are headquartered in Tokyo," Nippon Ishin chief and Osaka Gov. Hirofumi Yoshimura said in his first stump speech of the Upper House election campaigning on Thursday. "Nippon Ishin is the only party that truly thinks about regional areas." Speaking in the Namba district, one of the busiest areas of the city of Osaka, Yoshimura touted his party's accomplishments in administrative and fiscal reform in the Osaka prefectural and city governments, while calling for voters' support. The audience was not as engaged as it had been in past elections, however, and one local assembly member from the party admitted that "the crowd is small." Nippon Ishin has fielded two former Osaka city assembly members in the Upper House race, Rie Sasaki and Futoshi Okazaki. The party has won two seats in Osaka at every Upper House poll since 2016. But its support ratings have been falling, with its proportional representation vote tally in the prefecture falling by about 560,000 at last year's election for the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. The party is also struggling with internal turmoil, with a sitting Upper House lawmaker and an Osaka city assembly member both leaving Nippon Ishin after failing to secure its backing for the upcoming election. Sasaki and Okazaki jointly attended a rally in the Osaka city of Sakai on Thursday night, where they asked the more than 200 supporters in attendance to "divide neatly" their votes between the two candidates. The call came after Nippon Ishin apparently determined that securing two seats would be difficult if votes are concentrated on one candidate. About 300 local assembly members and local government heads in Osaka are supporting the campaigning of Sasaki and Okazaki. They have split into two teams to engage in campaign activities for each candidate. Sasaki and Okazaki spend the day campaigning separately but jointly attend night rallies. They ask supporters to split between the two the votes of their family members and acquaintances. Yoshimura has set a target of Nippon Ishin winning at least six seats in the Upper House race. With the party struggling to garner support, a senior party official suggested that this goal "can't be achieved without taking two (seats) in Osaka." "If the party drops a seat, it may affect the fate of the leader," another Nippon Ishin official said. Other roots in Osaka Osaka is a special place for Komeito. A candidate fielded by its main support group, the lay Buddhist group Soka Gakkai, in the prefectural constituency won a seat in the 1956 Upper House election, marking its debut in national politics. The 1956 campaign was led by the late Daisaku Ikeda, who later became Sokka Gakkai's leader. Komeito has since held onto the Osaka constituency seat. But in last year's Lower House election, Komeito failed to defend all four of its constituency seats in the prefecture. The party has struggled to gather votes due to Soka Gakkai's aging membership. "I don't know what will happen now," an Osaka city prefectural assembly member said. Hisatake Sugi, who is seeking his third term in the Upper House, said while speaking in a stump speech in front of a major shopping complex in the city of Osaka on Thursday that he had paved the way for a reduced consumption tax rate for certain goods. The LDP, Komeito and Nippon Ishin view Sanseito as a threat to their seats. The upstart party has set Osaka as a key opportunity for gains. Its leader, Sohei Kamiya, held speeches in the prefecture on Friday and Saturday. Kamiya, formerly a city assembly member from the Osaka city of Suita, held a speech in the same place where Yoshimura had delivered his first stump speech of the campaigning, telling voters that "Sanseito has its roots in Osaka." The Democratic Party for the People is also looking to grab an Osaka seat. Its chief, Yuichiro Tamaki, has spoken on multiple days in the prefecture. As Sanseito and the DPP are adept in campaigning on social media, it is difficult to gauge the level of support for their respective candidates, Chisato Miyade and Rio Watanabe. Rei Hashiguchi — who was fielded by the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, which placed sixth in the past two Upper House elections — is hoping to gather the votes of constituents critical of the government. A Komeito official said the party is "in a battle for fourth place with forces that had previously been unlikely to win." A senior Nippon Ishin official also expressed worry, saying the party is "viewed as an established party" and that it must differentiate itself by touting its achievements.
Japan Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan's Do It Yourself Party: Who we are and where we are headed
Ahead of the Upper House elections on July 20, Sanseito, the party I lead, has adopted the slogan 'Japanese First' and is fielding candidates in all electoral districts. Together with proportional representation, we aim to win six seats. Our slogan is not xenophobic by any means, and instead focuses on the needs of the Japanese citizen first, which the ruling party, pursuing a globalist agenda, has increasingly forgotten. While Sanseito is gaining voters and news coverage nationwide, some may still have questions about who we are, what we stand for and how we got started. The Sanseito — or 'do it yourself' — party was formed in April 2020 by a group of citizens under the slogan: 'If there is no party you want to vote for, let's create one from scratch.' In a true grassroots movement, the party was launched by ordinary citizens, most of whom had no political experience at the national or local level. The results were impressive. Without relying on major supporters, such as large corporations or religious groups, Sanseito secured more than 1.7 million votes in our first national election in 2022, just two years after becoming an organized party. I was elected to the Upper House at this time and have served as a member of the House of Councilors as well as the president of the party beginning in 2023. I was re-elected as party president in 2025. Following the election of three other members to the Lower House in 2024, our party currently has four members in the national legislature and operates 287 regional branches across Japan. More than 140 of our members have been elected in local elections, serving in local assemblies throughout the country. Our core philosophy is 'to protect Japan's national interests and bring about harmony in the world.' Our platform explicitly states the goal of achieving a harmonious society centered around the emperor and valuing traditional culture. Our party focuses on three key policy areas: 'education and human development,' 'food and health,' and 'national security.' As a father of three small children (and planning for more) all living in the countryside, these issues and commonsense approaches — explained below — are near and dear to my heart. Education and human development Promote education that fosters not only academic ability but also a love for family and community and pride in one's country, encouraging students to learn independently. Provide monthly subsidies of ¥100,000 to families with children under the age of 15 as part of child-rearing support. Food and health Support agriculture that does not rely on pesticides and chemicals and prioritize preventive medicine that contributes to the health of the people and the reduction of medical expenses. Improve the treatment of workers in primary industries (agriculture, forestry and fisheries) and aim to achieve 100% food self-sufficiency. Review the excessive influence of the World Health Organization (WHO) and pharmaceutical companies on pandemic policies and reconsider vaccination policies. National security Reduce the burden on households by gradually abolishing the consumption tax (equivalent to Japan's value-added tax) and lowering social insurance premiums. We will impose restrictions on foreign capital investment in real estate and infrastructure to protect national sovereignty and security. We will tighten regulations on voting rights and eligibility for election for immigrants and foreign residents. We will call for a review of radical policies related to gender and gender issues (As well as DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) promotion policies). Regarding climate-change measures, the party advocates moving away from decarbonization policies that ignore economic rationality. With these policies, Sanseito's impact is increasingly being felt in local elections, achieving 19 wins out of 21 elections (a win rate of over 90%) since the start of 2025. In recent elections in several smaller cities, the party has won the most votes and secured the top spot, rapidly expanding its support base in local communities. Moreover, in the recent Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, our party's candidates won three of the four seats we vied for, with the fourth candidate losing by a thin margin. Public opinion polls, which have gotten the attention of foreign observers and commentators, also show an upward trend in support rates. In a survey conducted by major Japanese media in June 2025, the party's support rate reached 3.9%, nearly tripling from the previous year's 1.3% and rising to fourth place among all parties. Sanseito already has over 80,000 members and supporters and our reach on social media platforms such as YouTube is also notable. The official Sanseito channel has over 270,000 subscribers, making it one of the largest among Japan's major parties. The party's unique election strategy, which combines grassroots networks with online outreach capabilities, is drawing significant attention. More and more voters are aware of our policies, energy and diversity among age groups, backgrounds and experiences — including supporters in international marriages and with much international travel and work under their belts — and want us to help promote commonsense and immediate change for the country. Japan has been very much open to foreign nationals and there has been a huge rise in the number of overseas workers in recent years. As with Europe and the United States, however, excessive immigration has become a problem causing issues in law and order. Because of this, we are simply calling for stricter rules and limits on the number of immigrants. This policy is supported by the Japanese public. With regard to other excesses of the globalist agenda of the ruling party, examples include the privatization of public enterprises such as the postal reform in 2006 under former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Now, there's chatter of dismantling the agricultural cooperative, with Koizumi's son Shinjiro Koizumi at the helm of the farm ministry. Privatization will result in profits flowing overseas. Japan's 'green transformation,' or GX, policies have also become excessive, with renewable energy surcharges alone costing taxpayers ¥3 trillion a year. And the forced promotion of electric vehicles has inflicted significant damage on the Japanese automotive industry, causing some associated interests to flow overseas. Our efforts over the past five years have shown that the Japanese voter is not apathetic, as some tend to believe. If anything, they are highly committed and passionate about their communities and country and are very concerned about the direction Japan is heading. It is normal for any nation's citizens and voters to feel this way. Along with them, Sanseito seeks to change the direction in which the country is headed and bring power back to the people. Sohei Kamiya is the president of Sanseito and a first-term member of the House of Councilors. He previously was the founder of the Ryoma Project and a member of the Suita City Assembly. He runs the Channel Grand Strategy on YouTube.
Japan Times
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Japan sets Upper House election for July 20
The government said Tuesday that an election for the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of parliament, will take place on July 20. The official campaign period will start on July 3 in the election for the 248-seat Upper House, in which 125 seats — 75 in constituencies and 50 under proportional representation — will be contested. The campaign will focus on ways to address rising prices and political fund issues. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday that his ruling coalition aims to secure a majority in the Upper House. The bloc needs to win at least 50 seats to achieve the goal. Opposition parties want to block his goal after the ruling coalition lost a majority in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, in an election last year.
Japan Times
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Former Komeito head Natsuo Yamaguchi to retire from politics
Natsuo Yamaguchi, former head of Japan's junior ruling party Komeito, will retire from politics upon the end of his current six-year term as a House of Councilors member late next month. Komeito chief Tetsuo Saito told a party meeting on Friday that Yamaguchi, 72, will not run in the upcoming election for the upper chamber of parliament. The former leader previously said that he would not seek a constituency seat in the Upper House poll. But he had remained vague on whether he would run in the proportional representation system. At the party meeting, Yamaguchi said he owed his career as a lawmaker to "support from colleagues." Yamaguchi became Komeito leader after his predecessor, Akihiro Ota, lost in the 2009 election for the House of Representatives, the lower parliamentary chamber. Yamaguchi served as Komeito chief for eight terms, or 15 years, through last September, the longest tenure since the party took its current form in 1998.
Japan Times
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
Parliament enacts revised pension reform bill
Parliament on Friday enacted a revised pension reform bill that calls for a measure to shore up basic pension benefits. The legislation passed the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of the Diet, by a majority vote, receiving support from the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and others. The basic pension improvement plan was initially not included in the government-submitted bill, reflecting opposition among LDP members, but a supplementary provision calling for such a measure was added following an agreement between the ruling bloc and the CDP. The revised bill had cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last month.
