FILE PHOTO: Sohei Kamiya, leader of Sanseito, on his election campaign on June 21, 2025 in Tokyo. - Kyodo News via AP
TOKYO: Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party has dominated the country for the last 70 years, losing control of the government only twice. A five-year-old party cobbled together on social media during the pandemic is trying to weaken that grip on power by tapping into voter frustrations and anti-foreigner sentiment.
The party, Sanseito, is gaining traction in the polls and is focused on peeling away current LDP voters in the upper house election on July 20. Led by Sohei Kamiya, a former high school teacher, it advocates for restrictions on immigration as well as laws against foreigners buying Japanese companies or land. Sanseito promises to cut taxes, protect rice farmers, boost the country’s birth rate and curb the use of pesticides.
