Zaitokukai, Sanseito, and the Sudden Emergence of Anti-Foreigner Populism in the July 2025 House of Councilors Election: Has Japan Reached a Tipping Point?

Abstract

This paper examines the reasons behind the sudden emergence of anti-foreigner populism in the mainstream during the July 2025 House of Councilors election. Starting with a comparative analysis of the right-wing organizations Zaitokukai (in the 2010s) and Sanseito (now), the paper argues that, against the background of exclusionist sentiment fostered during the pandemic and rising populism causing elites to lose control of the narrative on migration, the visibility of foreigners in everyday life in Japan has reached a psychological tipping point, a symbolic perceived threat to a homogenous identity that manifests itself in feelings of anxiety, injustice, and ultimately overt xenophobia.