Sanseito, a right-wing populist party in Japan that enthusiastically associates itself with U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” ethos, caused a minor earthquake in the parliament’s upper house over the weekend.

The party, headed by former supermarket manager and schoolteacher Sohei Kamiya, scooped up a total of 14 seats in the House of Councillors on Sunday — helping to rob the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party of its majority in the 248-seat chamber.

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Sanseito’s unexpected ascension rides a wave of popular resentment and fatigue with foreign residents that found its voice after years of silence.

Sanseito — which translates its name into English as “Democratic Party for the People” — brought a jarring sense of nationalism and self-interest into the public sphere that horrified progressive critics and excited disgruntled conservatives.

At the center of the party’s platform is a rejection of globalization’s effects on Japanese society and a desire to reorient the nation’s politics to primarily serve the interests of the island’s overwhelming ethnic majority.

Post-COVID tourism fatigue

Since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism and foreign residencies have spiked year over year.

While tourism has long played a vital role in Japan’s economy, the native population observed a marked change in the attitudes of visitors when the country’s borders reopened following the coronavirus. Not only were there more outsiders coming in, but they were accused of exhibiting much more anti-social behavior.

Social media flooded with photos and videos of tourists behaving badly — disrupting otherwise quiet train cars, performing acrobatic stunts on sacred sites, and harassing Japanese citizens on the street. Others were observed abusing the docile deer of Nara or spray-painting graffiti on Yasukuni Shrine.

The fatigue with foreigners was not isolated to right-wing political activists or think tanks. It slowly became a nationwide conversation.

Editorial boards of major newspapers have published a flurry of essays acknowledging the issues.

At the heart of these discussions has been the existential threat globalization poses on Japan’s national character, or as Sanseito calls it, the country’s “unique cultural heritage.”

Megumi Hayashibara, a famous voice actress known for her roles in Hello Kitty and Neon Genesis Evangelion, made headlines in June when she penned an unexpected blog post comparing foreigners to an invasive species of crayfish that killed off Japan’s native crustaceans.

In the face of this growing discontent, the center-right Liberal Democratic Party has struggled to maintain support.

The establishment flinches

Many Japanese conservatives believe that the 2022 assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — the nation’s longest-serving post-war leader — left the party and therefore the country rudderless.

The party has been accused of mishandling the economy, failing to alleviate rice shortages, and capitulating to foreign interests.

The LDP made a last-ditch effort to win back the anti-foreigner voting base with an announcement last week that a new office would be established to normalize “orderly coexistence” between Japanese and foreigners.

But it was too little too late, and the success of Sanseito’s “Japanese First” rhetoric left the LDP with only 122 seats, short of the 125 seats necessary to form a majority in parliament.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took responsibility for the losses, but announced on Monday that he would not be stepping down.

“While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,” said Ishiba. “Challenges such as global situation and natural disaster won’t wait for a better political situation.”

Crucially, Sanseito fell short of its most optimistic goal — winning the 20 seats necessary to propose budget bills in the upper chamber.

But Kamiya is already planning to continue his long march on Tokyo in the next general election for the lower chamber, the House of Representatives, which must be held by late 2028. All 465 seats will be up for grabs.

“If Sanseito wins 50 or 60 seats in the next Lower House election, I think it may be possible to form a coalition government with small parties, like European [governments], in the future. [Sanseito] will aim to be a part of that,” said Kamiya.

Old Japan, New Japan

Sanseito’s long-term goals do not stop at the visa office.

A crippled economy, an aging population far below replacement rate, and the growing threat of the People’s Republic of China have flipped many Japanese voters against post-war norms.

The Constitution of Japan — written in English by American jurists following the end of World War II and then translated into Japanese during the occupation and reconstruction periods — radically reformed not only the government but also the very idea of the Japanese nation.

Under the Americans’ framework, Japan permanently renounced its right to declare war or even form a standing military, though it does maintain a “Self Defense Force.”

Sanseito pushes for this to be overturned, seeing the forced pacifism of the Constitution as a national security threat and an outdated punishment carried over from a long-gone period.

The Emperor, once the titular head of government with supreme authority over all affairs foreign and domestic, is relegated to a “symbol” of the people in the current Constitution.

Sanseito wants to reestablish the monarch as head of government and give him limited veto powers over prime minister appointments and legislative proposals, calling the monarchy a sacred institution of the nation.

The party also rejects recent government acts to extend accommodations for LGBT movements in the country, a trend instigated in part by outside pressures such as former U.S. Ambassador Rahm Emmanuel. Sanseito preaches a return to traditional family values.

MAGA worldwide

It’s impossible to not draw comparisons between Sanseito and similar Trump-inspired movements around the world.

Political parties aping the sentiment of “Make America Great Again” have popped up across the globe, from Europe to South America to Australia and beyond. But perhaps Sanseito’s closest parallel is in Germany.

POLITICAL PARTY WITH ‘JAPANESE FIRST’ PLATFORM MADE BIG GAINS IN JAPAN’S ELECTIONS

The Alternative for Germany, boasting similar grievances of post-war abuse and a loss of national identity to foreign influence, rode a populist wave to over 20% in their country’s February election. Like Sanseito, their success shocked the political establishment but fell short of the parliamentary thresholds necessary to take direct action in the legislature.

Both right-wing movements have sparked backlash from progressive opponents who claim the sentiments espoused by party leaders betray a regression to Axis-era extremism.

At the same time, neither nationalist cause has a strong ally in Trump himself, who is waging a multi-front trade war with dozens of countries, including Japan and Germany.