The formation and rise of Sanseito,
a dangerous, far right wing, extremist populist party in
Japan.
Sanseitō (Japanese: 参政党, lit. 'Political Participation
Party'; officially the Party of Do it Yourself !! in
English) is a right-wing populist political party in Japan.
The party was founded in 2020 and won a seat in the 2022
House of Councillors election, also becoming an official
political party by winning more than 2% of the vote in the
election.
Background
The party promotes COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine
propaganda, including the party's president, Manabu Matsuda,
who has called COVID vaccines a "murder weapon". Sanseitō
gained international media attention during the 2022 House
of Councillors election due to the party's Secretary
General, Sohei Kamiya's antisemitic rhetoric during public
appearances and campaign rallies. Observers noted that
Sanseitō differ from usual far right political parties in
Japan, as most of its supporters are affluent, previously
political apathetic, who get attracted by the party through
topics like organic food culture and spirituality.
History
The party was founded in March 2020, and became active in
April of that year.
The party fielded five candidates for the national
proportional representation block and 45 candidates in all
constituencies for the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors
election. Sohei Kamiya, a Sanseitō candidate in the national
proportional representation block, won a seat. The party
received more than 2% of the vote in the constituencies and
proportional representation block, meeting the legal
requirements for it to become a political party.
Ideology and Policies
The party is known for its traditional conservative flavor
and has been called traditional conservative. It has also
been referred to as extremist.
The party wants the Japanese public to be able to opt out of
wearing masks and taking vaccines during the COVID-19
pandemic and has "characterized the pandemic as being
staged".
Key policies of the party are "education reform" to develop
the ability to think and to value tradition, "food safety"
to promote pesticide-free, and natural food products,
"national protection" to regulate foreign investment. And,
specifically in the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors
election the party also proposed the "liberalisation of mask
wearing" as their policy on coronavirus. Analysis found that
as of 2022 their voter overlap with young people and
child-rearing generation suffering from pandemic fatigue,
especially in regions with lower vaccination rate. For these
reasons, the party has been criticized and labeled as a
far-right political party with adherence to conspiracy
theories.
The party is in favour of rewriting the Constitution and a
defense budget increase of up to 3 percent of the GDP.
The party is against same-sex marriage, including civil
unions. Sanseitō was one of the only parties in the National
Diet to oppose the LGBT Understanding Bill.
Supporters
According to Mina Okamura, a clinical psychologist and
business psychology consultant, people who have been
indifferent to politics and elections were interested in the
keywords "anti-vaccine," "no mask," and "organic". Those
policies were easy to catch on to by those whom did not
study politics. The Sanseitō voters on the whole do not
think one's vote can change politics, but encourage
political parties, which already exist, to try to do what
they think is good. The speech of the party is emotionally
rather than logically appealing. Therefore, they appeal to
the sensibilities of the politically inexperienced and have
increased their support.
According to Japanese political analyst Hiroo Hagino, the
party is supported by the younger population, who have
become disappointed with politics centred on the elderly.
According to a JNN survey, a higher proportion of young
people voted for Sanseitō in the last election than other
demographics. Some Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials
expressed worry that they might lose votes because both
parties have conservative policies. Most of the Sanseitō
voters do not support the Kishida government.
Source - Wikipedia: Sanseitō
Sanseitō & Donald Trump
Many members of Sanseitō are Christians who support the
ideologies of former president Donald Trump.
Ayako Lawrence,
a Sanseitō candidate for the Miyagi refectural Assembly
Election in Aoba Ward, is a pastor at a Christian church and
stated "I started working in a political party after hearing
reports during the 2016 U.S. presidential election that
Trump's speech was cut out and his
image distorted." It's interesting to note that a
women who believes in Christian values would have respect
for a man like Trump, who had been divorced three times, had
sex with a porn star while married, has degraded and
molested women, been found guilty of defrauding students at
Trump University, is currently indicted for several high
profile court cases, was the driving force of an
insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, and recently used and
rewrote a Christian bible to raise money for his numerous
legal battles.
Unfortunately, the real news about Donald Trump rarely
reaches Japan, where he is often portrayed in the Japanese
media in a favorable light, and someone who has been good
for America when the exact opposite is the truth.
Sanseitō, Wikipedia, the Media,
Conspiracy Theories, and the Truth
Members of Sanseitō steer their members away from the truth
and any media sources which disagree with their mission. We
recently received a message from someone we met through a
home education group, who is now a member of Sanseitō, and
instructed us not to read the Wikipedia page about her new
found political party due to untruths, but instead to visit
the Sanseitō website to find out what they're really all
about. This same Sanseitō member recently posted the
following on X (formerly Twitter): "Mr.
Tucker Carlson is a true journalist. I will go to Moscow
myself and finally have an interview with President Putin!
Mr. Tucker says, ``I want people to judge for themselves,''
realizing how much of a gap there is between what we have
been told and what we have been told." It was written
in The Guardian that Carlson's firing from Fox News was in
part due to: "Carlson’s growing sense of invulnerability
mirrored his increasingly frequent forays into extremism,
conspiracy theories and outright unpleasantness towards Fox
colleagues and outsiders whose views contrasted with his
own." Carlson has been fired by several other news agencies
during his career.
Sanseitō
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What Conservatism in Japan Really
Looks Like
Conservatism in Japan can take many forms, many of which
lean heavily to the right and promote very conservative
views, hence the name, over a wide range of issues. Many of
these conservative views are presented here, with many of
them being either wholly or partially adhered to by the
Sanseitō
Party. Unfortunately many of the members of the
Sanseitō
Party are emulating, to the point of admiring, Donald Trump
and the Republican Party. These same members reiterate
comments made by Trump and Republicans throughout various
social media platforms without necessarily doing the
requisite background research to fact check the validity of
those comments. This results in a very distorted view of the
truth, which ultimately leads to that slippery slope known
as confirmation bias.
Fantastic page about
news literacy and confirmation bias here.
The following are the various aspects of conservatism in
Japan: |
- Ideologies
-
Fiscal
Conservatism - Fiscal conservatism or economic
conservatism is a political and economic philosophy
regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with
an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism,
limited government, and laissez-faire economics. Fiscal
conservatives advocate tax cuts, reduced government
spending, free markets, deregulation, privatization,
free trade, and minimal government debt.
-
Japanese
Nationalism - Japanese nationalism (Japanese:
日本のナショナリズム, nihonno nashonarizumu) is a form of
nationalism that asserts the belief that the Japanese
are a monolithic nation with a single immutable culture,
and promotes the cultural unity of the Japanese. Over
the last two centuries, it has encompassed a broad range
of ideas and sentiments which have been harbored by the
Japanese people in relation to their native country, its
cultural nature, its political system, and its
historical destiny.
-
Neoconservatism
in Japan - Neoconservatism (新保守主義,
Shinhoshushugi) in Japan, also known as the neo-defense
school, is a term used by Asian media only
recently[when?] to refer to a hawkish new generation of
Japanese conservatives. They are distinguished from
older Japanese conservatives in that they take a more
"active" view of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and
are known for making what would be considered in the
Western world politically incorrect statements (Shintaro
Ishihara is particularly well known for this).
-
Populism -
Populism is a range of political stances that emphasize
the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group
with "the elite". It is frequently associated with
anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The
term developed in the late 19th century and has been
applied to various politicians, parties and movements
since that time, often as a pejorative.
-
Shōwa Statism
- Shōwa Statism (國家主義, Kokkashugi) is the nationalist
ideology associated with the Empire of Japan,
particularly during the Shōwa era. It is sometimes also
referred to as Emperor-system fascism (天皇制ファシズム,
Tennōsei fashizumu), Japanese-style fascism (日本型ファシズム,
Nihongata fashizumu) or Shōwa nationalism. Developed
over time since the Meiji Restoration, it advocated for
ultranationalism, traditionalist conservatism,
militarist imperialism and a dirigisme-based economy.
-
State capitalism
- State capitalism is an economic system in which the
state undertakes business and commercial (i.e.,
for-profit) economic activity and where the means of
production are nationalized as state-owned enterprises
(including the processes of capital accumulation,
centralized management and wage labor). The definition
can also include the state dominance of corporatized
government agencies (agencies organized using
business-management practices) or of public companies
(such as publicly listed corporations) in which the
state has controlling shares.
-
State Shinto
- State Shintō (国家神道 or 國家神道, Kokka Shintō) was Imperial
Japan's ideological use of the Japanese folk religion
and traditions of Shinto. The state exercised control
of shrine finances and training regimes for priests to
strongly encourage Shinto practices that emphasized the
Emperor as a divine being.
-
Ultraconservatism
- Ultraconservatism refers to extreme conservative views
in politics or religious practice. In modern politics,
ultraconservative usually refers to conservatives of the
far-right on the political spectrum, comprising groups
or individuals who are located to the right of those
willing to temporarily agree with political moderates,
and continuing further right to include fringe parties.
Elements of ultraconservatism typically rely on cultural
crisis; they frequently support anti-globalism –
adopting stances of anti-immigration, nationalism, and
sovereignty – use populism and political polarization,
with in-group and out-group practices. The primary
economic ideology for most ultraconservatives is
neoliberalism. The use of conspiracy theories is also
common amongst ultraconservatives.
- Principles
-
Ancestral worship
- The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors,
is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some
cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a
continued existence, and may possess the ability to
influence the fortune of the living. Some groups
venerate their direct, familial ancestors.
-
Authority
- Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate
power of a person or group over other people. In a civil
state, authority is practiced by the legislative,
executive, and judicial branches of government. The term
authority has many nuances and distinctions within
various academic fields ranging from sociology to
political science.
-
Traditional
authority - Traditional authority is a form of
leadership in which the authority of an organization or
a regime is largely tied to tradition or custom. The
main reason for the given state of affairs is that
"things have always been that way".
-
Class
collaboration - Class collaboration is a
principle of social organization based upon the belief
that the division of society into a hierarchy of social
classes is a positive and essential aspect of
civilization. Class collaboration is one of the main
pillars of social architecture in fascism. In the words
of Benito Mussolini, fascism "affirms the irremediable,
fruitful, and beneficent inequality of men". Given this
premise, fascists conclude that the preservation of
social hierarchy is in all of the classes' interests and
therefore all classes should collaborate in its defense:
the lower and the higher classes should accept their
roles and perform their respective duties. In fascist
thought, the principle of class collaboration is
combined with ultranationalism. The stability and the
prosperity of the nation was seen as the ultimate
purpose of collaboration between classes.
-
Collective
identity - Collective identity or group identity
is a shared sense of belonging to a group. This concept
appears within a few social science fields. National
identity is a simple example, though myriad groups exist
which share a sense of identity. Like many social
concepts or phenomena, it is constructed, not
empirically defined. Its discussion within these fields
is often highly academic and relates to academia itself,
its history beginning in the 19th century.
-
Cultural heritage
- Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and
intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is
inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of
past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a
product of selection by society. Cultural heritage
includes tangible culture (such as buildings, monuments,
landscapes, archive materials, books, works of art, and
artifacts), intangible culture (such as folklore,
traditions, language, and knowledge), and natural
heritage (including culturally significant landscapes,
and biodiversity). The term is often used in connection
with issues relating to the protection of indigenous
intellectual property.
-
Cultural values
- Individual cultures emphasize values which their
members broadly share. Values of a society can often be
identified by examining the level of honor and respect
received by various groups and ideas.
-
Culture of life
- A culture of life describes a way of life based on the
belief that human life begins at conception, and is
sacred at all stages from conception through natural
death. It opposes abortion, euthanasia, capital
punishment (also known as the death penalty), studies
and medicines involving embryonic stem cells, and
contraception, because they are seen as destroying life.
-
Discipline
- Disciplinarians believe that self-control is of the
utmost importance and enforce a set of rules that aim to
develop such behaviour. Such enforcement is often based
on punishment.
-
Duty - A
duty is a commitment or expectation to perform some
action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A
duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality,
especially in an honor culture. Many duties are created
by law, sometimes including a codified punishment or
liability for non-performance. Performing one's duty may
require some sacrifice of self-interest.
-
Elitism -
Elitism is the belief or notion that individuals who
form an elite, a select group of people with intrinsic
and desirable quality such as high intellect, wealth,
power, physical attractiveness, notability, special
skills, experience, lineage, and other desirable traits.
Elites are more perceived to be more constructive to
society, and therefore deserving of influence or
authority greater than that of others. The term elitism
may be used to describe a situation in which power is
concentrated in the hands of a limited number of people.
-
Aristocracy
- Aristocracy is a form of government that places power
in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the
aristocrats.
-
Familialism
- Familialism or familism is an ideology that puts
priority to family. The term familialism has been
specifically used for advocating a welfare system
wherein it is presumed that families will take
responsibility for the care of their members rather than
leaving that responsibility to the government. The term
familism relates more to family values. This can
manifest as prioritizing the needs of the family higher
than that of individuals. Yet, the two terms are often
used interchangeably.
-
Family values
- Family values, sometimes referred to as familial
values, are traditional or cultural values that pertain
to the family's structure, function, roles, beliefs,
attitudes, and ideals. The concept of family values may
also refer to the extent to which familial relationships
are valued within people's lives.
-
Fundamentalism
- Fundamentalism is a tendency among certain groups and
individuals that is characterized by the application of
a strict literal interpretation to scriptures, dogmas,
or ideologies, along with a strong belief in the
importance of distinguishing one's ingroup and outgroup,
which leads to an emphasis on some conception of
"purity", and a desire to return to a previous ideal
from which advocates believe members have strayed. The
term is usually used in the context of religion to
indicate an unwavering attachment to a set of
irreducible beliefs (the "fundamentals").
-
Gender roles
- A gender role, or sex role, is a set of socially
accepted behaviors and attitudes deemed appropriate or
desirable for individuals based on their sex. Gender
roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity
and femininity, although there are exceptions and
variations.
-
Honour -
Honour is a quality of a person that is of both social
teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a
code of conduct, and has various elements such as valour,
chivalry, honesty, and compassion. It is an abstract
concept entailing a perceived quality of worthiness and
respectability that affects both the social standing and
the self-evaluation of an individual or of institutions
such as a family, school, regiment, or nation.
-
Imperialism
- Imperialism is the practice, theory or attitude of
maintaining or extending power over foreign nations,
particularly through expansionism, employing both hard
power (military and economic power) and soft power
(diplomatic power and cultural imperialism). Imperialism
focuses on establishing or maintaining hegemony and a
more or less formal empire. While related to the
concepts of colonialism, imperialism is a distinct
concept that can apply to other forms of expansion and
many forms of government.
-
Law and order
- In modern politics, "law and order" is an ideological
approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties
as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of
disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment,
mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws and even
capital punishment in some countries.
-
Loyalty -
Loyalty is a devotion to a country, philosophy, group,
or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an
object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is
strictly interpersonal and only another human being can
be the object of loyalty. The definition of loyalty in
law and political science is the fidelity of an
individual to a nation, either one's nation of birth, or
one's declared home nation by oath (naturalization).
-
Maternalism
- Maternalism is the public expression of domestic
values associated with motherhood. It centers on the
language of motherhood to justify women's political
activities, actions and validate state or public
policies. Maternalism is an extension of "empowered
motherhood." It defines itself as the extension of
feminine moral values of nurturance and care and the
home's social caring into a larger community. Under
maternalism, the mother-child relationship is essential
for maintaining a healthy society. All women are seen
united and defined by their ability and shared
responsibility to mother to all children. Using the
foundations of motherhood, mothers within maternalism
provide a service to the state or nation by raising
"citizen-workers."
-
Monarchism
- Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy
or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who
supports this form of government independently of any
specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular
monarch is a royalist.
-
Royalism -
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of
state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular
dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is
royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which
advocates a monarchical system of government, but not
necessarily a particular monarch.
-
Nationalism
- Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that
the nation should be congruent with the state. As a
movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to
promote the interests of a particular nation, especially
with the aim of gaining and maintaining its sovereignty
(self-governance) over its perceived homeland to create
a nation-state. It holds that each nation should govern
itself, free from outside interference
(self-determination), that a nation is a natural and
ideal basis for a polity, and that the nation is the
only rightful source of political power. It further aims
to build and maintain a single national identity, based
on a combination of shared social characteristics such
as culture, ethnicity, geographic location, language,
politics (or the government), religion, traditions and
belief in a shared singular history, and to promote
national unity or solidarity. Nationalism, therefore,
seeks to preserve and foster a nation's traditional
culture.
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Ordered liberty
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Organicism
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-
Organized
religion -
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Orthodoxy
-
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Patriotism
-
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Property rights
-
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Public morality
-
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Rule of law
-
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Social hierarchy
-
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Social
institutions -
-
Social Norms
- Social norms are shared standards of acceptable
behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal
understandings that govern the behavior of members of a
society, as well as be codified into rules and laws.
Social normative influences or social norms, are deemed
to be powerful drivers of human behavioural changes and
well organized and incorporated by major theories which
explain human behaviour. Institutions are composed of
multiple norms. Norms are shared social beliefs about
behavior; thus, they are distinct from "ideas",
"attitudes", and "values", which can be held privately,
and which do not necessarily concern behavior. Norms are
contingent on context, social group, and historical
circumstances.
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Social order
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Sovereignty
-
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State religion
-
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Stewardship
-
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Subsidiarity
-
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Tradition
-
- History
- Intellectuals
- Works
- Politicians
- Parties
- Organisations
- Media
- Variants and Movements
- Related Topics
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