Sanseitō
Sanseitō is an ultraconservative, right-wing populist political party in Japan. It is on the far-right of the political spectrum.
The party was founded in 2020 by Sohei Kamiya, the current secretary general of the party, 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. Sanseitō gained international media attention during the 2022 House of Councillors election due to Kamiya's antisemitic rhetoric during public appearances and campaign rallies. In the 2024 general election, the party won 3 seats. In the 2025 House of Councillors election, the party won more than 14 seats, bringing its total seat number to 15. According to the party's leader Kamiya, it is the Japanese equivalent of Trumpism in the United States.
The party promotes COVID-19 misinformation. The party's president, Manabu Matsuda, has called COVID-19 vaccines a "murder weapon". The party is against same-sex marriage and LGBT rights. The party strongly opposes immigration, claiming that foreigners bring crime and receive better treatment than native citizens. It proposes the creation of a new constitution to replace the existing one and published a draft that contains minimal human rights protections.
History
Sanseitō originated from a conservative YouTube channel called "Political Party DIY" created by streamer, politician Sohei Kamiya, and political analyst in April 2019. The YouTube channel's objective is to show how to create a political party from scratch. In April 2020, the three founders of the YouTube channel officially started Sanseitō.At the end of 2020,, a founding member of the party, advocated a conspiracy theory alleging that the 2020 United States presidential election was "rigged", causing infighting among him and two founding members, Kyoumoto and Watase, who were skeptical of the conspiracy theory. This led to three of the founding members leaving the party in 2021, while Kamiya remained as the leader of the party with Manabu Matsuda, another founding member of the five-person party. At this time, Kamiya was thinking about the direction of the party, and decided that he would be able to expand his support base by focusing more on conspiracy theories and network marketing. Since then, a large number of anti-vaccination and organic faith groups who claim that the COVID-19 vaccine is a conspiracy by pharmaceutical companies joined the party, creating a new support base.
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.
In the 2025 Japanese House of Councillors election, Sanseitō secured 14 seats based on its "Japanese First" slogan and a policy of tax reduction. It has gained votes from voters who had no previous party affiliation. However, its policy direction, which can be viewed as discriminatory, remained a contentious point for a party that aims to be influential in national politics in Japan.
Ideology and policies
Sanseitō is known for its ultraconservative ideology. It has also been referred to as extreme, "extremely conservative", and "hardline nationalist".Sohei Kamiya, founder and secretary general of Sanseitō, said that Sanseitō has a high affinity with the conservative faction of the U.S. Republican Party, the far-right German party Alternative for Germany, the far-right French party National Rally, and the right-wing populist party Reform UK. Kamiya has said that he learned many of his "emotional button-pushing themes and norm-breaking language" from U.S. President Donald Trump and stated that he was Japan's equivalent of Trump. According to Kamiya, Japan faces threats from shady globalists, criminal foreigners and a corrupt political establishment that is suffocating young people with taxes. His has proposed a "Japanese First" nationalist agenda. Sanseito has drawn mainly young male voters. Opponents and domestic media reports have accused him of being xenophobic, saying he is directing public anger with high prices and stagnant wages at Japan's foreign residents.
Diplomacy and military
Relationship and view on Russia
In July 2025, the party was accused of having ties with Russia after an upper house election candidate named Saya appeared in a Sputnik News interview, and for making payments to an advertising firm Vostok Joint Company. The party's general secretary Kamiya denied affiliations to Russia and claimed that the interview was authorized by a "low ranking staff" and that he was not informed beforehand. Kamiya said he has asked the responsible party staff to resign for authorizing the Sputnik interview. Sanseitō's relation with Russia has been questioned before as Kamiya said "Moscow should not be held entirely responsible for the war in Ukraine."Security and defense
The party advocates an increase in the national defense budget of up to 3% of GDP. The party is against the stationing of American troops and American military bases in Japan. The party calls for "constitutional reform and strengthening of the Self-Defence Forces". The party also says that "Sado Island and Tsushima should be made independent and a nuclear-armed nation should be created." Furthermore, Kamiya claimed that NISA could fund the development of a domestic social media platform to strengthen information sovereignty.Constitution
The party is in favour of "creating" a new Constitution, instead of reforming the Constitution. The party also criticizes the current Japanese Constitution, saying that it was "established under the supervision of GHQ during the occupation," and advocates "constitutional creation" in which the Japanese people should create a constitution that reflects the values of the Japanese people themselves. In May 2025, the Party announced the "New Constitution of Japan " on its official website as the result of its "Constitution Creation Project". The draft simplifies the current Constitution's 103 articles to 33 articles.The main contents of the proposed Constitution by Sanseitō include the lack of any provisions on human rights such as equality of citizens or freedom of religion, and the simplification of provisions on the Diet, Cabinet, and courts. It does not include the words "sovereignty of the people" or "fundamental human rights", and it stipulates that "the nation shall possess sovereignty". It also stipulates that "Japan is a nation in which the Emperor and the people are one, governed by the Emperor", and that the Emperor is the subject of governing power. It states that the "national polity" is a family state in which the people revere the Emperor, and it stipulates that the Emperor decides the era name, Kimigayo is the national anthem, and Hinomaru is the national flag. It does not include any words on pacifism and stipulates the maintenance of a self-defense force. Supreme command of the Self-Defense Forces belongs to the Prime Minister and does not require a Cabinet decision to exercise it. Citizens are obligated to "protect Japan," and education requires the teaching of the Imperial Rescript on Education and Japanese myths. "The family is the foundation of society," marriage is "based on the union of a man and a woman", and husband and wife must have the same surname. The qualifications for citizenship are that "one or both parents must be Japanese," "Japanese must be one's native language," and "they must cherish Japan." Foreigners are not allowed to vote. There is a provision imposing an obligation on the media to report on national policies without bias.
Immigration and foreign investment
Japan took in 1 million workers over the period from 2022 to 2025 to fill jobs left vacant by the decline in the Japanese working-age population. While foreign nationals make up about 3 percent of Japan's population, Sanseito has won voters with calls to limit immigration.The party has an anti-foreigner stance, based on claims that foreigners receive better treatment than native citizens and that Japan's culture is changing rapidly as a result of migration. The party calls for restrictions of foreign land ownership and a reduction in the number of foreign workers. In addition, the party is in favour of restricting land sales to any non-Japanese. Party members and supporters have made claims such as "Chinese people are buying up land and water resources on a large scale", as well as hostile remarks against Chinese students.
In his campaign speech leading up to the 2025 House of Councillors election, Kamiya claimed that foreigners are bringing crime to Japan. The party claimed that they would put "Japan First", leading to worries about xenophobia. Political analysts say that despite gaining more attention, Sanseitō is unable to dismiss its connection with conspiracy theories.