Japan’s political discourse has taken a troubling turn. During the 2024 and 2025 Liberal Democratic Party leadership elections, all candidates competed to sound tough on "foreigners."
This alarmism comes as the right-leaning Sanseito party has surged in popularity. The party, which calls immigration a “silent invasion,” won 14 seats in July’s Upper House election. Not surprisingly, other parties are now adopting Sanseito’s rhetoric.
But here’s the problem: Japanese politicians are conflating distinct categories that require different policy responses. Immigration (permanent settlement), temporary foreign workers, refugees, illegal migrants and tourists are being lumped together in political speeches. The result is dangerous confusion where legitimate policy debates about labor shortages become entangled with xenophobic fears about cultural invasion.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.