Party of Do it Yourself[1] 参政党 Sanseitō | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | DIY |
| Leader | Sohei Kamiya |
| Founded | 17 March 2020; 5 years ago (2020-03-17) |
| Headquarters | Azabudai Hills,Minato, Tokyo 106-0041, Japan |
| Newspaper | Sanseitō DIY Times |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Far-right[9] |
| Slogan | 投票したい政党がないから、自分たちでゼロからつくる Tōhyō shitai seitō ga naikara, jibuntachide zero kara tsukuru ('Since there is no political party to vote for, we will create our own from scratch!')[10] |
| Councillors | 15 / 248 |
| Representatives | 3 / 465 |
| Prefectural assembly members | 18 / 2,644 |
| Municipal assembly members | 138 / 29,135 |
| Website | |
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Sanseitō (Japanese:参政党,lit. 'Political Participation Party'; self-rendered asParty of Do It Yourself in English,DIY)[11][12] is anultraconservative,right-wing populist[16]political party in Japan. It is on thefar-right of the political spectrum.[17] The party was founded in 2020 bySohei Kamiya, the current secretary general of the party, and won a seat in the2022 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 the2022 House of Councillors election due to Kamiya'santisemitic rhetoric during public appearances and campaign rallies.[18] In the2024 general election, the party won 3 seats. In the2025 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 ofTrumpism in the United States.
The party promotesCOVID-19 misinformation. The party's president, Manabu Matsuda, has calledCOVID-19 vaccines a "murder weapon".[19] The party is against same-sex marriage andLGBT rights. The party strongly opposesimmigration, claiming that foreigners bring crime and receive better treatment than native citizens. It proposes the creation of a newconstitution to replace the existing one and published a draft that contains minimalhuman rights protections.
Sanseitō originated from a conservativeYouTube channel called "Political Party DIY" created by streamerKazuya Kyoumoto [ja], politicianSohei Kamiya, and political analystYūya Watase [ja] in April 2019. The YouTube channel's objective is to show how to create a political party from scratch.[20] In April 2020, the three founders of the YouTube channel officially started Sanseitō.[21]
At the end of 2020,Jōichiro Shinohara [ja], a founding member of the party, advocated a conspiracy theory alleging that the2020 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 withManabu Matsuda, another founding member of the five-person party.[20][22][23] 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.[23] Since then, a large number of anti-vaccination and organic faith groups who claim that the COVID-19 vaccine isa conspiracy by pharmaceutical companies joined the party, creating a new support base.[24]
The party fielded five candidates for the national proportional representation block and 45 candidates in all constituencies for the2022 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.[21]
In the 2025 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.[25]
Sanseitō is known for itsultraconservative ideology.[3][26] It has also been referred to as extreme, "extremely conservative", and "hardline nationalist".[27]
Sohei Kamiya, founder and secretary general of Sanseitō, said that Sanseitō has a high affinity with the conservative faction of theU.S. Republican Party, the far-right German partyAlternative for Germany (AfD), the far-right French partyNational Rally (RN), and the right-wing populist partyReform UK.[28] Kamiya has said that he learned many of his "emotional button-pushing themes and norm-breaking language" from U.S. PresidentDonald Trump and stated that he was Japan's equivalent of Trump. According to Kamiya, Japan faces threats from shadyglobalists ("cabal of global elites"),[29] criminal foreigners and a corruptpolitical 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 beingxenophobic, saying he is directing public anger with high prices and stagnant wages at Japan's foreign residents.[30]
In July 2025, the party was accused of having ties with Russia after an upper house election candidate namedSaya appeared in aSputnik News interview,[31] and for making payments to an advertising firm Vostok Joint Company.[32] 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.[33] Sanseitō's relation with Russia has been questioned before as Kamiya said "Moscow should not be held entirely responsible for thewar in Ukraine."[34][35]
The party advocates an increase in the national defense budget of up to 3% of GDP.[36] The party is against the stationing of American troops and American military bases in Japan.[37][38] The party calls for "constitutional reform and strengthening of the Self-Defence Forces".[39] The party also says that "Sado Island and Tsushima should be made independent and a nuclear-armed nation should be created."[40] Furthermore, Kamiya claimed thatNISA could fund the development of a domestic social media platform to strengthen information sovereignty.[41]
The party is in favour of "creating" a new Constitution, instead ofreforming the Constitution.[42] 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 (Conceptual Draft)" on its official website as the result of its " Constitution Creation Project".[43] The draft simplifies the current Constitution's 103 articles to 33 articles.[44][45]
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.[44][45] It does not include the words "sovereignty of the people" or "fundamental human rights", and it stipulates that "the nation shall possess sovereignty".[44][46] 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, andHinomaru is the national flag. It does not include any words on pacifism and stipulates the maintenance of a self-defense force.[45] 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 theImperial 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.[45]
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.[47]
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 foreignland ownership and a reduction in the number of foreign workers.[48] In addition, the party is in favour of restricting land sales to any non-Japanese.[49] 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.[50][51]
In his campaign speech leading up to the 2025 House of Councillors election, Kamiya claimed that foreigners are bringing crime to Japan.[52] 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.[53]
In terms of economics, in 2022 when Kamiya ran in election for the party, he claimed to supportAbenomics but with modification needed.[54] But in 2025, he commented on it negatively, criticizing its affinity with "globalism". Kamiya said he would support economic policy of tax reduction and usefiscal policy to support the economy.[55] Thefiscal deficit would be supported by issuing more debt and possiblycryptocurrency.[56]
In 2022, Toshiaki Yoshino, then party co-chair, claimed that wheat "did not exist before the war" and "was brought to Japan by GHQ (General Headquarters of theSupreme Commander for the Allied Powers) after the war to promote bread consumption, and is harmful to Japanese people, which is why there is an increase in cancer cases."[57][58] Co-chair Kamiya agreed, saying, "Let's stop eating wheat," and "There is no need to protect the food culture created in America."[58] In his edited book, "Sanseito Q&A Book: Basic Edition," Kamiya claimed that wheat was a food harmful to health that was brought to Japan by GHQ after the war and was popularized by "international finance capital", mainly of Jewish origin, to make profits.[58]
Sanseitō dismisses the need to cutgreenhouse gas emission, claiming thatglobal warming is up to further scientific discussion.[59] The party proposes reducingrenewable energy usage and advocate withdrawing from theParis Agreement.[60]
The party is againstsame-sex marriage, opposed theLGBT Understanding Promotion Act, and has called for the act to be repealed.[61][62][63] It opposes LGBT rights.[64] It is also against optional separate surnames for married couples, and the introduction of a quota system that would allocate a certain percentage of candidates and seats to women. The party maintains that imperial succession should be limited to the male line. In 2023, Kamiya proposed the reinstatement of the concubine system to increase the number of heirs to the throne, but this was criticized and the part was later removed from the official video.[65][46]
Regarding children's education, the party believes the government should set a priority policy of "educational reform that emphasizes thinking ability over academic ability" and promote "education based on a 'self-respect view of history' that values the country, region, and traditions."[66] Specifically, it believes the government should set a goal of "amending the law to allow local governments to establish inquiry-based free schools".[67][68]
The party supports giving authority to theAgency for Cultural Affairs to restrict the content ofmanga,anime, andvideo games, drawing criticism from creators includingHideki Arai,Hiro Arikawa and Hikaru Yuzuki.[69][70]
The party advocated the ability to opt out of both wearing masks and taking vaccines during theCOVID-19 pandemic, and has "characterized the pandemic asbeing staged".[3] The party promotes a range of conspiracy theories regarding vaccines.[27]
In the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors election the party proposed the "liberalisation of mask wearing" as their policy on coronavirus.[71] Analysis found that as of 2022 their voter overlap with young people and child-rearing generation suffering frompandemic fatigue, especially in regions with lower vaccination rate.[72][73] For these reasons, the party has been criticized and labeled as a far-right political party with adherence toconspiracy theories[79]
The party calls thePacific War the "Greater East Asia War" and claims that it was "not a war of aggression".[80][81] It also claims that its purpose was to liberate Asian countries from the West. Regarding theBattle of Okinawa, it believes that the Japanese military "fought to protect Okinawa".[81][82] It also denies the existence ofcomfort women and theNanjing Massacre. It regards the postwar view of history as a "masochistic view of history" that brainwashed into people by the policies of theSupreme Commander for the Allied Powers. The party advocates the education of a "self-respecting view of history".[83][84] Representative Kamiya stated in the 2023 Diet session that GHQ implemented the War Guilt Information Program (WGIP), "an information operation to imprint upon the Japanese people the guilt that the Japanese are forever war criminals," and that this imprinted upon the Japanese people the belief that the Japanese military was bad throughout the last war.[71]
In May 2025,Sohei Kamiya, general secretary of Sanseitō, was accused of rewriting history after he claimed that during theBattle of Okinawa, local Okinawans were only killed by US soldiers and not theImperial Japanese Army. The claim was endorsed byShouji Nishida, conservative politician from theLiberal Democratic Party.[85]
The claim caused an uproar in Okinawa because many Okinawan civilians were killed by the Japanese military during thePacific War, as the military had its one-sided idea that any local people, who could be against the military or could be a spy or even could be a disturber, should be killed. Masaie Ishihara fromOkinawa International University, who specializes in Okinawa history, issued a rebuttal to Sanseitō's claim, citing historical facts and asked politicians not to distort history.[86] After the incident, theOkinawa Prefectural Assembly held a study group for the councilors in Okinawa, and passed a protest resolution to the remark which twists and denies the real fact of the battle in Okinawa.[86]
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2025) |
According to Mina Okamura, a clinical psychologist and business psychology consultant, people who have been indifferent to politics and elections were interested in the keywords "anti-vaccine", "no mask", and "organic". Those policies were easy to catch on to by those who did not study politics. The Sanseitō voters on the whole do not think one's vote can change politics, but encourage political parties, which already exist, to try to do what they think is good. The speech of the party isemotionally rather than logically appealing. Therefore, they appeal to the sensibilities of the politically inexperienced and have increased their support.[87]
According to Japanese political analyst Hiroo Hagino, the party is supported by the younger population, who have become disappointed with politics centred on the elderly. According to aJNN survey, a higher proportion of young people voted for Sanseitō in the last election than other demographics. SomeLiberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials expressed worry that they might lose votes because both parties have conservative policies. Most of the Sanseitō voters did not support theKishida government.[88]
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Total | Position | Status | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Votes | % | Seats | +/- | Seats | +/- | ||||
| 2024 | Sohei Kamiya | 1,357,189 | 2.50% | 0 / 289 | New | 1,870,347 | 3.43% | 3 / 176 | New | 3 / 465 | New | 8th | Opposition |
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Party list | Seats | Position | Status | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Election | +/- | Total | +/- | ||||
| 2022 | Sohei Kamiya | 2,018,215 | 3.80 | 0 / 75 | 1,768,385 | 3.33 | 1 / 50 | 1 / 125 | New | 1 / 248 | New | 8th | Opposition |
| 2025 | 9,264,284 | 15.66 | 7 / 75 | 7,425,054 | 12.55 | 7 / 50 | 14 / 125 |  14 | 15 / 248 | 14 | 6th | Opposition | |
| Election | Leader | Constituency | Candidate | Votes | % | Position | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Sohei Kamiya | Tokyo 15th | Rina Yoshikawa | 8,639 | 5.1 | 6th | Lost |
Party leadership as of October 5:[89]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Leader | Sohei Kamiya |
| Board Members | Rina Yoshikawa |
| Hiroshi Ando | |
| Mizuho Umemura | |
| Mayuko Toyota |
Leadership of the Diet members' group as of 1 August 2025:[90]
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Leader | Sohei Kamiya |
| Hiroshi Ando |
| Chairman in the House of Councillors | Manabu Matsuda |
| Chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives | Atsushi Suzuki |
| Chairman of the Diet Affairs Committee in the House of Councillors | Mizuho Umemura |
Elected in2022:
Elected in2025:
After being connected with Bauder on Kent's campaign, Braynard apparently tapped the relationship in his lobbying work for Sanseitō, the far-right populist party in Japan.
Bracketed numbers indicate numbers of seats in theHouse of Representatives (Lower House) of theNational Diet immediately after the2024 general election | |||||
| Officially recognized political parties |
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