Latest news with #TakashiTachibana
Irish Times
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
As an Irishman living in Japan, I watch the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric with unease
Japan 's election laws restrict door-to-door canvassing, so political campaigns tend to be short, ritualised affairs. Most candidates make their pitches in recorded messages blasted from sound-trucks or speeches near transport hubs. Outside our train station in west Tokyo, the Conservative Party of Japan this month bemoaned the growing presence of 'foreigners'. As an Irishman who has lived in Japan for a quarter of a century, I wondered if I was being singled out. 'No, no,' the candidate, a man in his 60s assured me, 'just those foreigners who don't follow the rules.' [ The Irish Times view on Ireland and Japan: a deepening relationship Opens in new window ] It wasn't especially reassuring. Another candidate, Takashi Tachibana, leader of the NHK Party, last week gave a strikingly xenophobic speech: 'It's scary when groups of black people or people of Islamic background are gathered in front of the station.' Both those parties are considered fringe and well to the right in the Japanese political spectrum (Tachibana wears a Maga hat and calls himself the 'Japanese Trump'). More significant is Sanseito, meaning 'do it yourself', a new party platforming a Trump-lite 'Japan first' message. How Japan fell in love with Irish culture Listen | 17:56 Senseito is running in the July 20th house of representatives election on an anti-immigration platform. Its candidates warn of 'globalists' and rising crime by foreigners. They pitch a manifesto that stipulates restrictions on immigration and land purchases by non-Japanese. 'Japanese people feel unease and dissatisfaction because there are no established rules for accepting foreigners,' said the party leader Sohei Kamiya, who got into hot water during an election in 2022 when he promised not to 'sell out Japan to Jewish capital'. Sanseito party leader Sohei Kamiya during a street speech at the kick off of the campaign for the upper house elections in Tokyo, Japan. 'Foreigners tend to forge anything and are good at finding legal loopholes,' he said in another speech. Kamiya insists that he magnanimously speaks only for the 'many Japanese citizens frustrated that too much money is being spent on social security and education support for foreigners'. None of this rhetoric has harmed his political career. Kamiya won an upper house seat in the 2022 house of councillors election, in which his party bagged about 1.7 million votes. Some analysts predict Senseito could double that on July 20th. In time-honoured fashion, mainstream political parties are now toughening their pitch to avoid being outflanked by the right. The Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan for all but a handful of years since 1955, has called for 'zero illegal foreign nationals'. All sides claim to be tapping into a festering pool of popular resentment. A joint poll last month by NHK, Japan's public service broadcaster, found that 64 per cent of Tokyoites thought 'foreigners were unduly favoured in Japanese society'. [ 'Go to any reasonably sized town in Japan and you'll find an Irish pub': The Japanese fans of Irish culture Opens in new window ] Much of this resentment is unfounded. A group of Japanese non-governmental organisations said this month the claim that foreign nationals are better treated than locals is 'completely baseless', given that they cannot vote or claim welfare. Crime rates by non-Japanese are lower than for the general population. What makes the anti-immigration campaign more striking is that the percentage of foreign residents in Japan is still small – just three per cent. Compare that to Ireland, where the foreign-born population is around 22-23 per cent of the total population. The number of 'illegal aliens' in Japan – about 74,000 – is tiny for such a powerful country. Door-to-door canvassing is restricted in Japan. Photograph:The perception that foreigners 'break the rules' is heightened, however, by rogue behaviour among the huge influx of tourists who now crowd Japan's cities. Incidents such as the tourist who did pull-ups on the gates of a Shinto shrine are endlessly circulated on social media, inflaming local opinion. But a deeper malaise is at play, too. Poverty and wealth disparities are growing in Japan. And as the native population ages and shrinks, the prospect of a foreigner on every street looms. Japan is hardly the only country susceptible to populist messages that play on fears of this potentially enormous change. Senseito, which is made largely of anti-establishment, amateur politicians, seems to understand this. Among other policies, it advocates public ownership of key infrastructure, such as transport, and the distribution of 'rice coupons' to poor households. Importing too much cheap labour from abroad, meanwhile, warns Kamiya, means 'Japanese people's wages won't rise,' he said. Just because the message has been heard a thousand times in history doesn't make it any less potent.
The Mainichi
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Politicians focus on foreigners ahead of election: Our 5 most-read stories from last week
We've listed our five most read stories on The Mainichi news site, from top to bottom, that were published between July 5 and 13. The first story was viewed by 21.8% of our regular readers. (The Mainichi) NHK Party head Tachibana targets Black and Muslim groups in Japan as 'scary' KAKOGAWA, Hyogo -- House of Councillors election candidate Takashi Tachibana, leader of the political group NHK Party, made xenophobic remarks during a stump speech in this western Japan city July 4, saying, "It's scary when groups of Black and Muslim people hang out in front of train stations." Full story. Japan political parties pledging restrictions on foreigners with eye on conservative votes TOKYO -- As the July 20 House of Representatives election approaches, political parties in Japan have been proposing restrictions on accepting foreigners and stricter measures on dealing with them. Sanseito, which is proposing a "Japanese first" policy, has garnered support, and it appears that other conservative parties are also fishing for votes. While foreign workers are increasingly being accepted into Japan to make up for labor shortages, one expert warns that if exclusionism spreads, it could endanger democracy itself. Full story. 'Mom, who gave you these?' Foreigners in Japan with no status wish to work to exit poverty TOKYO -- In Japan's July 20 upper house election, a number of political parties have pledged restrictions and tighter measures for foreign nationals if they are voted in. Amid this situation, a foreign woman in Yokohama who has lost her residency status and now lives in poverty on "provisional release," expressed her wish to continue living in Japan, saying, "I want my sick child to receive due medical care." Full story. 46% of Japan workers who experienced 'gray zone harassment' considered quitting: poll TOKYO -- Have you ever witnessed someone at work start a preachy talk reminiscing about the "good ol' days" or offer unsolicited advice? Such behavior, while not qualifying as outright harassment, can cause discomfort, constituting "gray zone harassment." A recent survey by a private firm in Japan has shed light on how this behavior is gradually eroding a working environment. Full story. Japan sees marriage registration rush on first 'triple 7' day in 30 years TOKYO -- Japan saw a flurry of marriage registrations on July 7, which marked the first time in 30 years that the Japanese era, month and day all aligned with the number seven, with 2025 being the seventh year of Japan's current Reiwa era. Full story.
Tokyo Weekender
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Tokyo Weekender
NHK Party Leader Takashi Tachibana Calls Black and Muslim People ‘Scary'
Donning a MAGA cap and his trademark colorful suit, NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana addressed a crowd in front of JR Kakogawa Station in Hyogo Prefecture on Friday. The controversial politician, who is running in the House of Councillors race for the Hyogo electoral district, started the stump speech by stating that he is 'afraid of foreigners.' He then added, 'You might not feel as much fear with white people.' List of Contents: Takashi Tachibana's Latest Controversial Remarks Foreigners 'Disrespect Japanese Culture' Says Conservative Party of Japan Leader Related Posts Takashi Tachibana's Latest Controversial Remarks Tachibana went on to say , 'It's scary when groups of Black people or people of Islamic background are gathered in front of the station. It's impossible to walk past at night when there are four or five them frolicking in front of you, and you don't know if they speak Japanese. The current law doesn't allow us to regulate them, so we can't tell them to go away.' Tachibana, who previously suggested that genocide is the solution to overpopulation and that 'we should just wipe out races that have babies like idiots,' was attacked in March, not by a foreigner, but a Japanese national. He was cut on his head and neck with a machete-like weapon, though his injuries were not serious. Suspect Shion M iyanishi , who was arrested at the scene, told the police he 'intended to kill' Tachibana. Foreigners 'Disrespect Japanese Culture' Says Conservative Party of Japan Leader Tachibana wasn't the only Japanese politician to voice controversial views about foreigners over the past few days. During a stump speech on Saturday, Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the minor right-wing opposition Conservative Party of Japan, said that foreign people 'disrespect Japanese culture, ignore the rules, assault Japanese people and steal their belongings. In northern Kanto you see many towns like this that are no-go zones. If we don't do something about it; Japan's public safety will be threatened.' The right-wing populist party Sanseito, meanwhile, has been gaining a lot of attention due to its 'Japanese First' approach. Speaking at the FCCJ last Thursday, leader Sohei Kamiya insisted that this approach was 'not based on xenophobia.' Responding to a question about immigration, he said, 'Our party is not in favor of accepting migrants to substitute for the drop in Japan's population,' adding, 'Please understand we're not intending to exclude foreign workers who are here legally. We just believe cheap foreign labor is not the right way.' Related Posts Foreign Residents Sue Japanese Government for Racial Profiling US Embassy Tweets About Suspected Racial Profiling in Japan Racism in Japan: A Conversation With Anthropology Professor John G. Russell
The Mainichi
05-07-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
NHK Party head Tachibana targets Black and Muslim groups in Japan as 'scary'
KAKOGAWA, Hyogo -- House of Councillors election candidate Takashi Tachibana, leader of the political group NHK Party, made xenophobic remarks during a stump speech in this western Japan city July 4, saying, "It's scary when groups of Black and Muslim people hang out in front of train stations." Tachibana, who is running in the July 20 upper house race for the Hyogo electoral district, began his speech by saying, "Six years ago, I was afraid of fee collectors for (public broadcaster) NHK. But recently, I am afraid of foreigners." He prefaced his statements with, "You might not feel as much fear with white people," and, "This may be considered discrimination." He continued, "If the government doesn't provide welfare to foreigners, they'll come attacking it without a doubt," and discussed his views on "the deterioration of public safety" as a backdrop to the emergence of "Japanese-first" public opinion. He concluded by saying, "I never used to have such an exclusionary feeling, but it has changed into a strong sentiment." (Mainichi)
The Mainichi
20-05-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Editorial: Hyogo Pref.'s criminal complaint impedes media reporting in public interest
In the latest development in Gov. Motohiko Saito's alleged power harassment and other acts, the Hyogo Prefectural Government filed a criminal complaint with the prefectural police accusing an unspecified person of leaking information in violation of confidentiality obligations under the Local Public Service Act. What cannot be overlooked is that the act of providing information to the Shukan Bunshun weekly magazine was included in the subjects of the criminal complaint. The move could undermine media outlets' ability to check governments through reports based on whistleblowing. The Hyogo governor's alleged power abuse and other problems came to light through an anonymous document that was created by a former chief of the prefectural government's Nishiharima District Administration Office. Based on the prefectural government's audio recordings and documents, Shukan Bunshun reported in 2024 that then vice governor had grilled the former district chief, alleging that he was the whistleblower behind the anonymous missive. Searching for a whistleblower contravenes the Whistleblower Protection Act. Shukan Bunshun's reporting was of high public interest in providing society with a glimpse into improprieties of the prefectural government's conduct. This fact was brought to light because of the individual who, even at risk, supplied insider information. Protecting the confidentiality of the sources of information is a crucial principle of the press. The prefectural government's action is unacceptable as it attempted to identify and punish the informant who should be protected. The prefecture filed the criminal accusation in response to a report by a third-party committee that investigated the information leak. Their investigation was sparked by an incident in which Takashi Tachibana, head of the political group NHK Party, and others spread online private information of unknown authenticity that was left on the former bureau chief's work computer. The information had nothing to do with the whistleblowing and was degrading of the former bureau chief, who died in 2024. Regardless, the prefectural government added Shukan Bunshun's digital edition reporting to the targets of investigation by lumping it together as "online information." The implementation outline of the inquiry, including its purpose and targets, had initially been withheld, and the details were only made public on March 31 when the report was released. That's when the inclusion of the Shukan Bunshun coverage as a subject of the investigation was first disclosed. The prefectural government's decision to treat the exposure of privacy the same as information provision that serves the public interest is beyond comprehension. It was the governor himself who decided to set up the third-party panel. While he explained that the selection of investigation targets was at the discretion of the human affairs division, he cannot evade his responsibility as the head of the prefectural administration. The prefecture is urged to withdraw the criminal complaint that could silence its conscientious employees.
