Japan’s far-right party courts Trump allies, vows not to get ‘wacky’

TOKYO - Japan’s far-right Sanseito party has set up an international arm to court allies of US President Donald Trump such as Mr Steve Bannon and like-minded groups in Europe, betting that global conservative recognition will help it shake up staid Japanese politics, according to four party officials.

Launched during the Covid-19 pandemic spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and the perceived influence of global elites, Sanseito

broke into mainstream politics in a July election

with fiery warnings about foreigners.

Now, as Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) picks a new leader to steady its shaky administration, Sanseito is seeking to raise its international profile to lend credibility to its challenge for power and influence.

“It’s clear that we no longer live in an era where Japan can determine its course alone,” party leader Sohei Kamiya told Reuters in an interview.

“So we want to get our message out abroad first,” he said, adding that this would help circumvent what he considers a pro-establishment domestic media.

To spearhead this effort, the party established an international division in Tokyo in September to accelerate a strategy of engaging with people in Mr Trump’s orbit and European right-wing figures, according to Mr Kamiya and three other Sanseito officials as well as US disclosure documents. 

Details of Sanseito’s global outreach, some of which predates the international division, have not been previously reported.

The strategy marks a step change for Japan’s otherwise insular far-right politics and may give Sanseito staying power where other challengers have failed, said Dr Jeffrey Hall, an academic specialising in Japanese politics at Kanda University.

“A lot of what Sanseito talk about is about how immigration has destroyed other countries in the world. By meeting with figures who are saying those things in the West and being recognised by them, it does help Kamiya stand out,” he said. 

Japan’s foreign resident population hit a record 3.8 million in 2024, which at 3 per cent of the total is far lower than in the United States or western Europe.

Nevertheless, Sanseito’s warnings of a “silent invasion” resonated with some voters angry about rising living costs in the Upper House election in July, catapulting the party’s tally in the 248-seat chamber to 15 seats from one previously.

The LDP and its coalition partner lost their majority, leading Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to resign.

A Sept 8 poll by public broadcaster NHK showed Sanseito is now Japan’s most popular opposition party, leading the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party.

Sanseito aims to win 30 to 40 seats in the next Lower House election, to add to three currently, giving it enough members to submit Bills and possibly enter a power-sharing arrangement, Mr Kamiya said.

He hopes that whoever wins the LDP leadership race on Oct 4 – likely either hardline nationalist Sanae Takaichi or the more-moderate Shinjiro Koizumi – will call a snap election to test public appetite for their premiership.

Mr Koizumi told Reuters he would engage with all opposition parties, but if elected he had no plans “at this time” to call an election. Ms Takaichi’s office said she was not available to comment.

Outreach to Kirk, Bannon and Carlson

An oft-cited Japanese proverb warns that “the nail that sticks out gets hammered down” – meaning those who break from the norm are criticised or pressured to conform.

But international recognition can help Mr Kamiya avoid that fate, said Mr Sen Yamanaka, a US-educated former banker turned Sanseito lawmaker who heads the party’s new international arm.

That is one reason the party arranged for US influencer Charlie Kirk, who played a key role in driving youth support for Mr Trump, to speak at an event in Tokyo in September. Mr Kirk was fatally shot less than a week later.

Appearing alongside Mr Kamiya at a packed conference hall, Mr Kirk said it was not too late for Japan to avoid the mass migration ruining the West, said Mr Yamanaka, who represented Sanseito at Mr Kirk’s memorial in Arizona. Turning Point USA, the advocacy group Mr Kirk founded, did not respond to a request for comment.

Sanseito had been in talks for Mr Kamiya to appear at Mr Kirk’s year-end America Fest conference, headlined by Mr Trump in 2024, Mr Yamanaka said.

Mr Kamiya added that the party plans to invite prominent right-wing voices from France, Germany and Britain to conferences in Japan in 2025 and 2026. 

Mr Kamiya also asked to appear on podcast shows hosted by Mr Bannon, Mr Trump’s former strategist, and conservative commentator Tucker Carlson in 2024, according to US public disclosures submitted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Mr Matthew Braynard, a former Trump campaign staffer, submitted the requests on Mr Kamiya’s behalf, the disclosures show. Mr Braynard told Reuters he helped the party on a voluntary basis and was not paid. 

More recently, Mr Bannon’s show requested an interview with Mr Kamiya after the July election but that did not materialise due to scheduling conflicts, the Sanseito leader said. 

Mr Bannon told Reuters he is “working to get him on”. “This could be a revolutionary force in Japanese politics,” he said.

Mr Carlson told Reuters he supported Sanseito’s efforts to restrict immigration, seeing it as key to protecting Japanese culture. He said he wanted to connect with Mr Kamiya and would “have my guys call him right now”.

In August, Mr Kamiya met with the co-head of Germany’s far-right AfD party in Tokyo and said he received a message of encouragement for Sanseito’s policies. AfD did not respond to a request for comment.

Maga with Japanese characteristics

Mr Kamiya said he would welcome the chance to meet Mr Trump, who has defied protocol previously to meet with like-minded opposition figures.

Mr Trump hosted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at the Oval Office in September, while Vice-President J.D. Vance met AfD’s leader in Germany in 2025. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. 

Like Mr Trump, Mr Kamiya has stirred controversy with his remarks.

He has criticised gender-equality policies for keeping women from having children, blamed the increase in foreigners for stagnant Japanese wages, and used a slur against Japan’s ethnic Korean population – a comment for which he later apologised.

Sanseito’s “Japanese First” slogan

riffs off Mr Trump’s “America First” mantra.

But Mr Kamiya stressed his party “are not Trump worshippers”, criticising the president’s trade policies and saying he would have rejected the “unfair” US$550 billion (S$710 billion) investment programme Japan agreed to in exchange for tariff relief. 

Sanseito also faces a distinctly Japanese quandary of how to upend the status quo in a society that prizes politeness and consensus.

That means a less-confrontational style of politics than Mr Trump’s to “shift Japan’s political direction” without pushing “wacky” or extreme policies, Mr Kamiya said.

“Japanese value harmony and place an importance on getting broad, gradual consensus – I do, too,” he added. REUTERS