Why a 'mini Trump' is breaking through in Japan

As President Donald Trump’s tariffs add to a sense of uncertainty in Japan, the Sanseito party and its leader Sohei Kamiya made gains on a “Japanese first” platform.

TOKYO — As President Donald Trump’s tariffs add to a sense of uncertainty in Japan, more voters here are embracing an idea inspired by their longtime ally the United States: “Japanese first.”

The nationalist slogan helped the right-wing populist party Sanseito make big gains in Japan’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, as it capitalized on economic malaise and concerns about immigration and overtourism.

Party leader Sohei Kamiya, who since 2022 had held Sanseito’s only seat in the upper house of Japan’s parliament, will now be joined by 14 others in the 248-seat chamber. It’s a far cry from the party’s origin as a fringe anti-vaccination group on YouTube during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Though Japan has long had a complex relationship with foreigners and its cultural identity, experts say Sanseito’s rise is another indication of the global shift to the right embodied and partly fueled by Trump, with populist figures gaining ground in Europe, Britain, Latin America and elsewhere.

Kamiya “fancies himself a mini-Trump” and “is one of those who Trump has put wind in his sails,” said Jeff Kingston, a professor of Asian studies and history at Temple University’s Japan campus.