“Foreigner policy” leapt to the forefront of Japanese politics and onto front pages across the country in 2025, propelled by what some called the xenophobic policies and rhetoric of the right-wing Sanseito party during the July House of Councillors election. Sanseito picked up 14 seats in that election for an upper house total of 15, sufficient to begin submitting bills. In the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s October leadership race, “foreigner policy” was a major plank in every candidate’s platform, and eventual winner and prime minister Sanae Takaichi vowed stricter measures regarding foreigners.
All this happened as Japan’s need for workers from abroad continued to deepen, and the country’s foreign resident population hit a record 3.95 million-plus at the end of June.
Japan finds itself in the grips of an increasingly pressing question: How should the country accept new foreign residents? And how many?
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“Foreigner policy” leapt to the forefront of Japanese politics and onto front pages across the country in 2025, propelled by what some called the xenophobic policies and rhetoric of the right-wing Sanseito party during the July House of Councillors election. Sanseito picked up 14 seats in that election for an upper house total of 15, sufficient to begin submitting bills. In the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s October leadership race, “foreigner policy” was a major plank in every candidate’s platform, and eventual winner and prime minister Sanae Takaichi vowed stricter measures regarding foreigners.
All this happened as Japan’s need for workers from abroad continued to deepen, and the country’s foreign resident population hit a record 3.95 million-plus at the end of June.
Japan finds itself in the grips of an increasingly pressing question: How should the country accept new foreign residents? And how many?