{"id":17596,"date":"2025-08-25T15:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T22:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17596"},"modified":"2025-09-07T11:24:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-07T18:24:08","slug":"my-sna-visible-minorities-col-69-japans-rightward-swing-is-overblown-aug-24-2025-on-how-the-emergence-of-sanseito-shouldnt-be-ignored-but-it-doesnt-deserve-the-media-hype-as-its-ideas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17596","title":{"rendered":"My SNA Visible Minorities col 69:  &#8220;Japan&#8217;s Rightward Swing is Overblown&#8221; (Aug 24, 2025), on how the emergence of Sanseito shouldn&#8217;t be ignored but it doesn&#8217;t deserve the media hype, as its ideas are neither new nor well-planned"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Books, eBooks, and more from Debito Arudou, Ph.D. (click on icon):<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11452\" title=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/Guidebookcover.jpg\" alt=\"Guidebookcover.jpg\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11335\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/japaneseonlyebookcovertext-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"japaneseonlyebookcovertext\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/handbook.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1298\" title=\"Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Handbook2ndEdcover.jpg\" alt=\"Handbook for Newcomers, Migrants, and Immigrants to Japan\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/inappropriate.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-8577\" title=\"inappropriatecoverthumb150x226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/inappropriatecoverthumb150x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/japaneseonly.html#japanese\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-1700\" title=\"jobookcover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/05\/jobookcover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\u300c\u30b8\u30e3\u30d1\u30cb\u30fc\u30ba\u30fb\u30aa\u30f3\u30ea\u30fc\u3000\u5c0f\u6a3d\u5165\u6d74\u62d2\u5426\u554f\u984c\u3068\u4eba\u7a2e\u5dee\u5225\u300d\uff08\u660e\u77f3\u66f8\u5e97\uff09\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cinemabstruso.de\/strawberries\/main.html\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2735\" title=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/sourstrawberriesavatar.jpg\" alt=\"sourstrawberriesavatar\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?cat=32\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4921\" title=\"debitopodcastthumb\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/debitopodcastthumb.jpg\" alt=\"debitopodcastthumb\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=12473\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-thumbnail wp-image-12474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/FodorsJapan2014cover-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"FodorsJapan2014cover\" width=\"75\" height=\"100\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nUPDATES ON TWITTER: arudoudebito<br \/>\nDEBITO.ORG PODCASTS on iTunes, subscribe free<br \/>\n&#8220;LIKE&#8221; US on Facebook at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/debitoorg<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/embeddedrcsmJapan<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants\">http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/handbookimmigrants<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/JapaneseOnlyTheBook<\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BookInAppropriate<\/a><br \/>\nIf you like what you read and discuss on Debito.org, please consider helping us stop hackers and defray maintenance costs with a little donation via my webhoster:<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dreamhost.com\/donate.cgi?id=17701\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/secure.newdream.net\/donate4.gif\" alt=\"Donate towards my web hosting bill!\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<i>All donations go towards website costs only. Thanks for your support!<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Hi Blog. \u00a0Here&#8217;s my latest column on the Japan Upper House Elections last month, developing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17593\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">something I wrote before the elections<\/a>. I&#8217;ve decided that, despite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=17582\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">all the feedback on Debito.org<\/a> saying we should be alarmed, I&#8217;m offering a shrug. \u00a0Hear me out, below. \u00a0I look forward to more of your feedback. \u00a0Debito Arudou, Ph.D.<\/p>\n<p>\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/<\/p>\n<h3>THE JULY 2025 *RIGHTWARD-SWING\u201d ELECTION IS OVERBLOWN<\/h3>\n<h4><em>Yes, there is a new far-right party in Japan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But at this point the media hype about Sanseito is sensationalism, as what it\u2019s offering is neither new nor well-planned.<\/em><\/h4>\n<h4>By Debito Arudou, Shingetsu News Agency Visible Minorities column 69, August 24, 2025<\/h4>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"mzWefSpVnE\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2025\/08\/26\/visible-minorities-japans-rightward-swing-is-overblown\/\">Visible Minorities: Japan&#8217;s Rightward Swing is Overblown<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#8220;Visible Minorities: Japan&#8217;s Rightward Swing is Overblown&#8221; &#8212; SNA Japan\" src=\"https:\/\/shingetsunewsagency.com\/2025\/08\/26\/visible-minorities-japans-rightward-swing-is-overblown\/embed\/#?secret=dMvO8q0RXM#?secret=mzWefSpVnE\" data-secret=\"mzWefSpVnE\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>By the time I had completed my column last month, Japan had its <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2025_Japanese_House_of_Councillors_election\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">July 20, 2025, Upper House Elections<\/a>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They deserve comment in this space, but not for the reasons you might expect.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The major takeaway was the ruling conservative parties (the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito) lost seats, while the opposition parties on the right, left, and center generally gained. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Notably, for the first time since the LDP was founded in 1955, the party lost its ruling majority in both the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This meant they had to expand their coalition to stay in power.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Which they did\u2014Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stayed PM. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So my read is that we\u2019ll have to wait and see whether Japan\u2019s parliamentary system will become as fragile as, say, Postwar Italy\u2019s has been, with elections every few months (until recently) as coalitions fail.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>My read is pretty milquetoast.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But that\u2019s not what the media shouted about.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>SANSEITO AS THE NEXT BIG POLITICAL MOVEMENT?<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>The headlines were dominated by the rise of new far-right party called Sanseito, a \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/07\/21\/asia\/how-did-a-far-right-party-that-began-on-youtube-win-big-in-japans-recent-election\">burgeoning<\/a>\u201d \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asahi.com\/ajw\/articles\/15918756\">election force<\/a>\u201d that \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/07\/21\/asia\/how-did-a-far-right-party-that-began-on-youtube-win-big-in-japans-recent-election\">won big<\/a>\u201d and became \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.asahi.com\/ajw\/articles\/15918756\">the talk of the town<\/a>\u201d. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sanseito nakedly trumpeted Trump themes by campaigning on a *Japan First* strategy, singling out foreigners as the cause of Japan\u2019s woes, and promising all manner of xenophobic policies to further disenfranchise, penalize, limit if not expel Non-Japanese.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Their essential point is that foreign residents aren\u2019t real members of Japanese society\u2014even if they naturalize\u2014and should never be entitled to equal access to the things they pay taxes for or are guaranteed under the constitution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Now, one would expect that I would be \u201cdoing a Debito\u201d here, megaphoning from the rooftops about a new era where Japan is becoming fascist. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But I\u2019m actually going to argue the froth is a bit overblown.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I won\u2019t go so far as to tell people to ignore Sanseito, but this election is more a case study of media hype than of a definitive political shift.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Because Sanseito is saying nothing new and still has no real power.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>SANSEITO GAINED SEATS, BUT\u2026<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>First, let\u2019s start with a sense of scale.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Sanseito is now at 15 seats in the Upper House, up from only a single seat before the election.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It did punch above its weight in terms of total votes from constituencies and proportional representation votes.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But that\u2019s really the strongest case you can make for a new rightward swing in Japan. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But in terms of raw numbers, in a chamber of 248 seats, Sanseito only occupies six percent of them.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It still remains only the sixth largest party in the Upper House.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>That\u2019s not really power-broker or even swing-voter status yet.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They can\u2019t, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cly80nnjnv5o\">submit budget bills<\/a> involving public spending until they reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2025\/07\/21\/japan\/politics\/japan-sanseito-upper-house-results\/\">20 seats<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Second, bear in mind that the Upper House is the less powerful of the two chambers anyway.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>In my experience, the Lower House is where the serious politicians dwell and have tugs-of-war with the ministerial mandarins, who are the real policymakers in Japan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Upper House, however, is where the celebrity, larker, clown, and dilettante candidates have some fun before they rubber-stamp what\u2019s tossed up to them. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>That means that Sanseito is right where they belong\u2014in the clown-car fringe-party zone that every developed parliamentary system provides venting voters.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>SANSEITO IS IN FACT NOT SAYING ANYTHING NEW<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>Sanseito has indeed said outlandish (and outright <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cx2k29233jeo\">false<\/a>) things about the foreign element in Japan, proffering propaganda that is hateful, overt, and unabashed.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I have no doubt that if in power, they would relish sticking it to anyone who doesn\u2019t fall under their definition of *true Japanese* (including ideologically).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They are not merely authoritarians who want to dominate by any means necessary.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They are fascists, in that they imbue their populism with racist and ethnocentric ideologies, and they would dismantle democracy with a smile.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But I\u2019ve written about Japan\u2019s politicians for decades now, and for all of Sanseito\u2019s racist statements, every single one of them I\u2019ve seen in other parties and candidates, both in slogans during elections and while in office afterwards.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Bigotry was always intrinsic, for example, to ruling LDP policy proposals (recall Nippon Kaigi in the highest echelons of elected government), and it went down easily with the fearful and ignorant. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Now recall how blatantly racist former Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara was, and re-elected to power for decades.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Then factor in the decades of prejudicial performance art in prefectural representatives, city mayors, neighborhood associations, local assemblies, etc.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Unlike Sanseito, these people were in positions of real power to craft actual xenophobic public policies.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And they did.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>And how about the regularized racial profiling and search-and-seizure powers (sometimes with deadly force) of the Japanese police?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The local businesses putting up unconstitutional yet completely legal \u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The unfettered racist landlords who make every apartment hunt an ordeal for Visible Minorities?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>And the constant drumbeat of \u201cWe Japanese* exclusionary narratives in Japanese media?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>That\u2019s why you get constant alienation as the rule rather than the exception in Japan, whether as part of political sloganeering or merely as part of daily life for Japan\u2019s foreign residents.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>In other words, it\u2019s not much of a leap from *Japanese Only* to *Japan First*\u2014either in terms of content or intent.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Given that<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cJapanese Only\u201d signs have been around verifiably since 1992, and Japan still hasn\u2019t made them illegal despite signing international treaty in 1996, I could argue that Sanseito have been laggards, behind the curve for more than thirty years. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>My point is that Sanseito is nothing new.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>What\u2019s new is the LDP is now being seen as part of the problem by Japan\u2019s reactionaries.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>It was the government\u2019s bright idea to bring in all those foreigners as laborers and tourists to man convenience stores and shake Japan\u2019s moneymaker. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But I\u2019m not being sarcastic here.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It was a bright idea.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cCool Japan\u201d etc. has been a resounding success.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The Japanese economy has grown so dependent on foreign inflow that even the LDP has changed its tune, <a href=\"https:\/\/english.kyodonews.net\/articles\/-\/45880?phrase=Kill&amp;words=#google_vignette\">denouncing discrimination and prejudice<\/a> (while also tossing out some right-wing chum to lure some votes away during the election).<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Clearly that strategy didn\u2019t work. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>WHO\u2019S MORE WORRIED ABOUT SANSEITO?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>THE MEDIA<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>So Sanseito\u2019s rise isn\u2019t altogether unexpected.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s what you get when voters feel their regular valve for voting their regular pet grievances has disappeared.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s a protest vote. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But it\u2019s not clear this is a bellwether of a sustainable social movement, as plenty of dead parties in Japanese politics can attest.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So why did we get the big headlines?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Because of the rise of the Global Far Right. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>America, despite being the world\u2019s flagship \u201carsenal of democracy,\u201d is turning fascist. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Accordingly, hot-fingered journalists are asking whether Japan is the next domino of rising xenophobic parties, as seen in Hungary\u2019s Orban, Italy\u2019s Meloni, Britain\u2019s Brexit, Netherlands\u2019 Wilders, France\u2019s Le Pen, Germany\u2019s AfD, or India\u2019s Modi. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Yet, as argued above, Japan\u2019s politics has been politically ethnostatist for decades.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s just now the media has a peg and a fringe party to hang their articles on.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So despite all that, Sanseito still has no real power to change anything.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Yet.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>WHEN SHOULD WE WORRY ABOUT SANSEITO?<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>As noted by scholars of how modern democracies die (see for example Levitsky and Ziblatt\u2019s groundbreaking work), we should fear political pendulum swings when the pendulum cannot swing back, i.e., when the opposition can never take a turn again at leadership because they have been systemically shut out of power forever.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This happens when the anti-democrats voted into office have concrete plans for domination, not just populist slogans. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>For example, they make unconstitutional activities legal by targeting people\u2019s civil rights, \u201ccapture referees\u201d by stacking judiciaries and politicizing the civil service, sideline the opposition by portraying political rivals as evil and unentitled to power, and dismantle institutions offering checks and balances that fetter fascists with the rule of law. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sanseito is nowhere near that threshold of planning.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They have scribbled out some rewarmed prewar ideas about constitutional reforms and enforcing patriotism (again, all LDP policies that didn\u2019t cause such alarm before), and some populist slogans about restoring traditional family values, lowering taxes, excluding foreigners, restoring the primacy of the Emperor, etc.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Yes, some worrisome stuff incompatible with a modern democracy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But it\u2019s nothing as workable as the U.S. Heritage Foundation\u2019s 920-page \u201cProject 2025.\u201d<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Read it sometime and see how granular it is.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Plus if Sanseito went from fringe to real power, they would have to face the formidable Japanese bureaucracy, which has steered Japan basically from its inception.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s even more siloed and impenetrable than the one Trump is dismantling. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>That\u2019s why, even in Japan\u2019s one-party state, Japan\u2019s Diet Members do not draft policy.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Even PM Cabinet Members are expected to listen to what\u2019s going on in their ministries but never touch the controls.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>You\u2019d need a lot of pages in your Project 2025 to tackle that.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>THE NEXT STEPS:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>BIRDS OF A FEATHER<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>What is worrisome is that in Sanseito, finally the Global Far Right has someone they can relate to. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Both Trump and Steve Bannon tried hobnobbing with their far-right hero, former PM Shinzo Abe, and only got so far.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>After all, in terms of staying in power, Japan\u2019s LDP is the most successful political party in any liberal democracy, and as such is as institutionalized as the mandarins at maintaining the status quo.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But the next steps are in progress.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>This was seen when the U.S. Republican Party adopted Hungary\u2019s Orban\u2019s tactics for consolidating control, representatives of the Global Far Right have already <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asahi.com\/ajw\/articles\/15951473\">met with Sanseito<\/a> and offered their playbook. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>One could also argue that Japan is more susceptible to the appeal of fascism.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s much easier for the latent bigotry of \u201cJapan First\u201d to sell to a public that intuitively believes it anyway.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Those are the warning signs.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>But I still believe we\u2019re not there yet.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Even the LDP is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japantimes.co.jp\/news\/2025\/08\/20\/japan\/politics\/cdp-current-status\/\">talking with<\/a> the leftist Constitutional Democratic Party to preserve ideological centrism, which is how other imperiled democracies have historically warded off their authoritarians. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>CONCLUSION:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>WAIT AND SEE<\/h3>\n<p><strong><em>That\u2019s why my conclusion is that the alarmist headlines about last month\u2019s elections are premature.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>it will take a few more elections for the staying power of Sanseito to become clear. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>After all, it took Trump\u2019s operatives ten years to learn how they could fix the system in their favor forever. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>And despite the Global Far Right\u2019s playbook, the fear of fascism itself might offer enough cautionary tale (as seen recently in Canadian elections) for Japan to stave it off. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Recall what happened recently in South Korea, where they routed a soft coup in mere weeks.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Why?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>They\u2019ve been through a brutal authoritarianism before. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>So has Japan, albeit a few generations ago, but their fascism utterly destroyed the country.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Historical amnesia is on the rise, but that basic fact has not been forgotten. <span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Sometimes societies have to go through an autocracy before they develop antibodies to it.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>It\u2019s entirely possible that Trump is as much a vaccine as he is a plague.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>But to return to my original point:<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>I still say that Sanseito is still half-baked cosplay fascism at the moment.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Belay the sensational headlines and see how this plays out.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>At this stage, only time will tell what side will learn well enough to seize or preserve power.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ENDS<\/p>\n<p>======================<br \/>\n<em>Do you like what you read on Debito.org? \u00a0Want to help keep the archive active and support Debito.org&#8217;s activities? \u00a0Please consider donating a little something. \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/?p=13748\">More details here<\/a>. Or if you prefer something less complicated, just click on an advertisement below.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Excerpt:  By the time I completed my column last month, Japan had held its July 20, 2025, Upper House elections. They deserve comment in this space, but not for the reasons you might expect.<\/p>\n<p>The major takeaway was that the ruling conservative parties (the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito) lost seats, while opposition parties on the right, left, and center generally gained. Notably, for the first time since the LDP was founded in 1955, the party lost its ruling majority in both the Upper and Lower Houses of the National Diet. This meant they had to expand their coalition to stay in power, which they did\u2014Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba remained in office.<\/p>\n<p>So, my take is that we\u2019ll have to wait and see whether Japan\u2019s parliamentary system will become as fragile as, say, postwar Italy\u2019s, with frequent elections (until recently) as coalitions fail. My read is pretty milquetoast. But that\u2019s not what the media shouted about.<\/p>\n<p>The headlines were dominated by the rise of a new far-right party called Sanseito, a \u201cburgeoning\u201d \u201celection force\u201d that \u201cwon big\u201d and became \u201cthe talk of the town.\u201d Sanseito openly trumpeted Trump-like themes, campaigning on a Japan First strategy, singling out foreigners as the cause of Japan\u2019s woes, and promising xenophobic policies to disenfranchise, penalize, limit, or even expel non-Japanese. Their core stance is that foreign residents aren\u2019t real members of Japanese society\u2014even if they naturalize\u2014and should never have equal access to taxpayer-funded services or constitutional guarantees.<\/p>\n<p>One might expect me to \u201cdo a Debito\u201d here, sounding the alarm about a new fascist era in Japan. But I\u2019m going to argue the froth is overblown. I won\u2019t tell people to ignore Sanseito, but this election is more a case study in media hype than a definitive political shift. Sanseito is saying nothing new and still lacks real power&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,75,18,36,22,19,34,33,50,52,20,5,12,73,4,10,14,13,60,77,11,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-embedded-racism","category-japanese-only-signs","category-academia","category-bad-social-science","category-cultural-issue","category-education","category-exclusionism","category-fingerprinting-nj","category-gaiatsu","category-hate-speech","category-history","category-human-rights","category-immigration-assimilation","category-japans-blame-game","category-japanese-government","category-japanese-policeforeign-crime","category-japanese-politics","category-media","category-nj-voices-ignored","category-on-democracy","category-problematic-foreign-treatment","category-tourism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17596","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17596"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17596\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17601,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17596\/revisions\/17601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.debito.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}