Hanoi: Far-right forces in Japan hope to capitalize on growing immigration concerns as the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba brace for a tough election on Sunday.

According to Deutsche Welle, the Japanese are set to vote for just over half of the 248 seats in the country’s House of Councilors, the upper chamber of the Japanese parliament. Ishiba’s LDP and the allied Komeito party need to win at least 50 of those seats in order to maintain their majority. However, this relatively low bar might prove to be challenging amid the LDP’s declining popularity.

While the LDP is considered conservative, voters perceive it as moving towards more centrist positions in recent years. Now, Ishiba is fending off attacks from nationalist parties like Sanseito and the Conservative Party of Japan, whose immigration policies are similar to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AFD) or Donald Trump’s MAGA movement in the US.

There were a record 21.51 million tourist arrivals in the first half of 2025, an increase of 21% over the same period last year, according to the Japan National Tourism Organization. Officials are anticipating more than 40 million arrivals by the end of the year, with the nation on course to meet the government’s target of 60 million foreign visitors annually by 2030.

Soaring numbers of tourists may help the national economy, but with Japan’s strict cultural norms, many visitors breed resentment if their behavior is raucous, thoughtless, or demanding. Such incidents are also invariably picked up by the Japanese media. The media is also quick to report on crimes committed by foreigners living in Japan, such as the arrest of a group of four Vietnamese tourists accused of theft in 2024.

Defenders of immigration point out that Japanese businesses are in dire need of labor due to declining birth rates and a growing elderly population. However, Souhei Kamiya, founder of the far-right Sanseito party, argues that “Japan should not rely on foreign workers.” Kamiya insists on accepting only skilled workers for fixed durations, emphasizing that they must leave after their term.

Kamiya further claims that many foreign workers have abandoned their assigned jobs and turned to criminal activities. He suggests that Japan’s population, even if it decreases to 80 million, would be sufficient to sustain the nation.

Yoichi Shimada, a lawmaker for the Conservative Party of Japan, shares similar concerns. He points to foreign nationals, particularly wealthy Chinese, purchasing land in Japan, describing it as a security threat. Shimada alleges that the Chinese government is deliberately colonizing Japan, citing records of land purchases near strategic military bases.

Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at Temple University in Tokyo, notes that Japan’s far right has drawn inspiration from Trump’s “America First” campaigns. Murakami argues that these right-wing groups promote the concept of Japanese exclusivity, despite evidence that legal immigrants support Japan’s economy amid labor shortages. She disputes claims that immigrants are responsible for rising crime figures, highlighting a decline in foreign arrests despite an increase in the foreign population.

Murakami concludes that economic struggles and societal issues are often unfairly blamed on foreigners, as people find it easier to target immigrants amid economic downturns and rising prices.