The “Osaka NO HATE demonstration” against xenophobia and discrimination is seen outside JR Osaka Station in the city of Osaka’s Kita Ward on Aug. 31, 2025. (Mainichi/Kensuke Yaoi)
OSAKA — It was a sweltering Aug. 31, and the street outside JR Osaka Station was crowded with protesters decrying what they call the anti-foreigner rhetoric that had colored the July House of Councillors election campaign, which saw the right-wing Sanseito party make significant gains. During the Osaka event, both residents and Diet members gave speeches one after another.
Mi, one of the organizers of the “Osaka NO HATE demonstration” and a company worker in their 40s, explained, “It is frightening that parties like Sanseito, which made xenophobic claims, have gained ground, so I talked with friends about organizing a space to advocate against discrimination.”
Sanseito secured more than 7.4 million votes in the upper house election with their “Japanese First” slogan, coming in behind only the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the Democratic Party for the People in the proportional representation bloc. In the Osaka constituency, which had four seats up for grabs, Sanseito’s Chisato Miyade secured third in the election.
Miyade had declared during the campaign, “Taxes are not used for the benefit of Japanese nationals but are for some reason spent on foreigners who’ve just arrived here.” While insisting that discrimination against sexual minorities is unacceptable, she asserted, “Making laws specifically to protect a tiny subset of people will strip other citizens of many of their rights.”
But the vast majority of tax money is spent on Japanese nationals and, for example, laws passed to protect the rights of people with disabilities make society more comfortable for them. Miyade’s view that protecting the rights of minorities is a “loss” to the majority risks encouraging prejudice and division against them.
The “Osaka NO HATE demonstration” against xenophobia and discrimination is seen outside JR Osaka Station in the city of Osaka’s Kita Ward on Aug. 31, 2025. (Mainichi/Kensuke Yaoi)
J-Rawr, a college student, artist and second-generation immigrant to Japan living in Osaka, insisted in a speech at the demonstration that preferential treatment of foreigners does not exist.
“I was born and raised here. I just live my life hanging out with friends like others do, attending college, working a part-time job, spending time with my loved ones, and pursuing my interests of DJing and doing hip-hop. Someone please tell me how I’m getting preferential treatment!” he told the crowd, which responded with enthusiastic applause.
A 2024 revision to Japan’s Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act has expanded the conditions for having one’s permanent residency voided, including falling behind on tax or social insurance premium payments. J-Rawr said, “I now face the risk of being treated differently from other human beings despite being born and raised in Japan,” and called for a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.
On Oct. 19, about two months after the first “NO HATE” demonstration, a second protest was held at a crossing in Osaka’s Chuo Ward. Lee Sinhae, co-head of the “Association to think about the hate problem in Higashiosaka” stated, “We’d like to reassure foreigners in Japan by showing them that there are people who want to live together with them.”
The association, launched in April this year, seeks ways to counter discrimination locally. It aims for the establishment of an ordinance prohibiting hate speech with penalties in its home base of Higashiosaka. Lee said, “If the ordinance is established, we can counter many kinds of discrimination. We can bring peace of mind to Japan-born foreigners who only know Japanese, and we can make this society a comfortable place to live for those who newly come from overseas. Those who inherently have rights do not face difficulties, so why don’t we improve everyone’s basic rights?”
(Japanese original by Kensuke Yaoi, Osaka City News Department)
AloJapan.com