Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP, officially announced its presidential election yesterday, with candidates delivering campaign speeches during a televised event.
Issues related to foreigners have become a central focus for nearly all candidates, with former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi opening her speech by addressing incidents of foreigners mistreating deer in the city of Nara, stating, “It’s time to take action.”
A record 36.9 million tourists visited Japan in 2024, while the foreign resident population grew to a record-breaking 3.76 million, with 9.5 percent of the population aged 20-29 years now being foreign-born.
Stories about disrespectful foreign tourists, foreigners driving up property prices and foreigners working illegally have become staples on social media. The Japanese government has even created a foreigner task force, and the populist “Japanese first” Sanseito party this summer became the fourth-largest party in the Diet, Japan’s parliament.
In yesterday’s televised LDP event, Takayuki Kobayashi, a former economic security minister, noted that the behavior of some foreigners caused public unease. He proposed stricter immigration and foreign policy measures, including controls on foreign land and property purchases. He also called for penalties and a registration system to counter foreign disinformation and interference.
Former LDP Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi advocated for a “zero illegal foreigners” policy, promising tough measures against violators. He also proposed a unified management system for foreign land and property acquisitions.
Incumbent Agriculture Minister and current polling leader Shinjiro Koizumi highlighted concerns in some regions about illegal employment of foreigners, friction with locals and worsening public safety. He pledged to tackle these issues head on by strengthening the coordination of foreigner-related policies and implementing comprehensive solutions.
Koizumi’s top challenger is former Economic Security Minister Sanae Takaichi, who devoted the most time to the foreigner issue. Introducing herself, she said, “I am Sanae Takaichi, a woman from Nara, raised in the land of Yamato. That’s why I cannot ignore the 1,460 deer in Nara Park.”
“Some foreigners kick deer or scare them with punches. These tourists mistreat things precious to Japanese people. I’ve even seen online videos of people using shrine torii gates as jungle gyms.”
Takaichi emphasized that while Japan welcomes tourists and relies on foreign labor in key industries, the process must be gradual to avoid straining society. Takaichi pointed out systemic unfairness, such as cases where foreigners are released without prosecution due to a lack of translators or policies that make hiring foreigners more cost-effective.
“Policies allowing large inflows of culturally dissimilar groups must be reevaluated,” she said.
Leave a Reply