“The number of foreign immigrants who don’t obey the rules is increasing,” argues the young voter Uta Kato.
“The burden on citizens including taxes is bigger so life is getting more difficult.”
Sanseito blames the government for policies that have allowed more foreigners into the country.
“We are not promoting xenophobia,” the party’s founder, Sohei Kamiya, said at a news conference in June. “Japanese people feel unease and dissatisfaction because there are no established rules for accepting foreigners.”
In another news conference he said: “Many citizens are frustrated that too much money is being spent on social security and education support for foreigners.”
Welfare minister Takamaro Fukuoka – of the LDP – has rebutted the claim that the government is providing favourable medical or welfare benefits to foreign residents.
Still, the message resonates with supporters. “Foreigners are scary. I’m afraid they may go on a rampage,” a 54-year-old Sanseito volunteer told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper. When asked why he feared foreigners, he admitted that he had not experienced any direct harm from them.
A 35-year-old homemaker attending a Sanseito rally with her husband and child told the paper: “Sanseito says things that other parties don’t say.”
But the far-right party’s focus on foreigners doesn’t just apply to people seeking to live in Japan. Sanseito has another, more unusual target on its list: tourists.
AloJapan.com