Sohei Kamiya | |
|---|---|
神谷 宗幣 | |
.jpg) Kamiya in 2025 | |
| Secretary General ofSanseitō | |
| Assumed office 17 March 2020 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Member of theHouse of Councillors | |
| Assumed office 26 July 2022 | |
| Constituency | National PR |
| Member of theSuita City Council | |
| In office 27 May 2007 – 26 December 2012 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1977-10-12)12 October 1977 (age 48) |
| Party | Sanseitō (since 2020) |
| Other political affiliations | Suita Shinsenkai (2007–2012) LDP (2012–2015) Independent (2015–2020) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Kansai University (BLitt,JD) |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Ground Self-Defense Force Reserve |
| Years of service | 2012–2022 |
| Rank | Sergeant (3等陸曹,Santō rikusō)[1] |
| Unit | Reserves |
Sohei Kamiya (神谷 宗幣,Kamiya Sōhei; born 12 October 1977) is a Japanese politician who is the founder and leader of theright-wing populist political partySanseitō.[2][3] Kamiya has been serving as a member of theHouse of Councillors since 2022 through theProportional Representation Block. He advocates "Japanese first" andanti-globalism.[4]
Aconspiracy theorist who promotesCOVID-19 andvaccine misinformation,[5] Kamiya gained international media attention while campaigning for the2022 House of Councillors election due to hisantisemitic rhetoric during public appearances and campaign rallies.[6] He has been described as a controversial politician and his party acult by his political opponents.[7]
Kamiya was born inTakahama, Fukui on 12 October 1977. He graduated from Fukui Prefectural Wakasa High School, majoring inscience and mathematics. He then enteredKansai University's Faculty of Letters, Department of History and Geography (now called the Department of General Humanities). He moved toSuita,Osaka after graduating from the same university in 2001. He became an English and history teacher at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School.
In 2002, he became an employee of Kamiya Store, a company run by his parents, and served as a store manager. In 2003, he made a short return as a teacher at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School. In 2004, he enrolled in Kansai University Law School's Legal Professional Training Course, completing his studies in 2007 and obtaining aJuris Doctor degree.[8][9][1]
In the2007 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Suita City Council and was elected. He was inaugurated as a councilor on May 27, 2007.[10] Kamiya founded theregional political party Suita Shinsengai in the same year. In 2010, he became a representative of the Kansai State Politicians Federation. In June of the same year, he established theRyōma Project (jp) National Association and assumed the position of chairman. In 2011, Kamiya was re-elected as a member of the Suita City Council. He was then elected as the Vice Chairman of the City Council.[10]
In November 2012, Kamiya joined theLiberal Democratic Party and became the head of the party'sOsaka 13th district (Higashiōsaka) branch,[11] replacingHouse of Representatives memberAkira Nishino. Kamiya then resigned from his seat in the Suita City Council to run for the2012 Japanese general election,[12] with then-LDP President and former prime ministerShinzo Abe personally campaigning on behalf of Kamiya,[13] but lost to Koichi Nishino from theJapan Restoration Party.
In 2013, Kamiya founded "Grand Strategy Co., Ltd." (later renamed "Ishiki Kaikaku Co., Ltd."), which distributed online video content such as dialogues with conservative commentators and ranpersonal development seminars.[14] The seminar featured lecturers who advocatedconspiracy theories and spirituals.[14] Around this time, he handed out his business cards to persons he became close to that read, "Let's do politics likeOne Piece."[15]
In the2015 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Osaka Prefectural Assembly as an Independent candidate for Suita's electoral district, but was defeated, placing 6th out of 6 candidates.[16]
In 2019, Kamiya launched an onlinepolitical organization "Political party DIY" (政党DIY (Do It Yourself),Seitō DIY), with a conservative YouTuberKAZUYA [ja] and political analystYūya Watase [ja].[14] A year later in March 2020, he formed the political party "Sanseitō" alongsideManabu Matsuda, a former finance bureaucrat, Yūya Watase, Kazuya andJōichiro Shinohara [ja], a former Japanese Communist Party member, and assumed the position of Secretary General.[17][a]
On 10 July 2022, Kamiya filed his candidacy for the2022 House of Councillors election for theProportional Representation Block and was elected.[19][20] He was inaugurated on 26 July 2022.
On 30 January 2023, five senior members of Sanseitō, including Kamiya, were sued by theNHK Party on the grounds of fraud.[21] At a speech held inShimonoseki on January 31, 2023, Kamiya criticized the NHK Party, claiming that "The NHK Party has executives who have ties to radical leftist groups and anti-Japan forces." In response, the NHK Party filed another lawsuit on 2 February 2023, claiming 100 million yen in damages against the Sanseitō and Kamiya.[21]
On 30 June 2025, Sanseitō announced that a councillor who formerly belonged to theJapan Innovation Party, aright-wing populist party, had joined Sanseitō. The move means Sanseitō has five parliamentary seats, fulfilling the requirements of the Japan National Press Club to be invited to participate in televised debates.[22]
In a debate held on 13 July, Kamiya put forth "Japanese First" as their primary policy. Kamiya was then criticized by representative from the Social Democratic Party for policies that would "only lead to xenophobia".[23][24] The party had a breakthrough in the election, winning 14 seats.
On 1 August 2025, after the 27th regular election for the House of Councillors, the Party will create a new executive position for its Diet members, appointing Senator Ando Yutaka as Secretary-General and Chairman of the Policy Research Council. Meanwhile, Kamiya will continue to serve as Secretary-General, responsible for managing the party's overall affairs.[25]
While campaigning for Sanseitō in the2022 Japanese House of Councillors election, Kamiya told the crowd that "Sanseitō would not sell out Japan toJewish capital," a remark that was greeted with applause at the time but later resulted in international media coverage and condemnation.[26]
In one of his ownpublications, Kamiya stated, "The powerful, who aim to create huge profits by sellingvaccines andmedicines, are actively calling for the wearing ofmasks through mass media such asnewspapers and television in order to excessively inflame fear of theCOVID-19 pandemic." He further explained that "the powerful" refers tointernational financial capital andmultinational corporations. In the same book, Kamiya described these financial capital and multinational global corporations as "Jewish". When Kamiya appeared on a televised interview on August 18, 2022, after being elected to theHouse of Councillors, he said, "It is true that Jewish capital is involved, but I think it was wrong to write it in such a way that it could be misinterpreted as if it were all done by Jews, so I will have to correct it in the future."[27]
In 2023, Kamiya was accused of power harassment against his former official secretary who later took her own life in December 2023. This followed complaints by the secretary to Sanseitō members and friends about power harassment by Kamiya.
Sanseitō denied the claim, saying that their own internal investigation did not prove the former secretary's suicide is related to power harassment. However, another staff testified his serious harassment.[28]
In an interview withAsahi, Kamiya responded to claims about power harassment in his party, "That's because my way of speaking is quite blunt. I tend to say things clearly. However, there are various people who do things on their own, and it all ends up reflecting on the party's responsibility. So, we really need to establish strict rules to manage things effectively."[29][30][31][32]
In May 2025, Kamiya was accused of attempting to rewrite history after he falsely claimed that during theBattle of Okinawa, local Okinawans were only killed by U.S. soldiers and not theImperial Japanese Army.[33]
The claim caused uproar in Okinawa, as many Okinawan civilians were killed by the Japanese military during thePacific War. The military had a policy that any local people, who seemed suspect or a spy, should be killed. Masaie Ishihara fromOkinawa International University, who specializes in Okinawa history, issued a rebuttal to Kamiya's claim, citing historical facts and also asking politicians not to distort history.[34]
After the incident, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution protesting Kamiya's remark stating that it twisted and denied the real facts of the battle in Okinawa. However, Kamiya remained defiant and said that his claims are "not fundamentally wrong".[33] In a street speech in Okinawa, he said, "The Japanese military came to protect the people of the prefecture," and "We were able to return to the mainland because they damn fought for us."[35] In response, a fact-checking article in theOkinawa Times cited the actual killings of residents and their expulsion from their trenches but did not find any documents to support his statements and deemed them unfounded.[36]
He refers to the Pacific War as the "Greater East Asia War",[37] and takes the position that it was "not a war of aggression."[38] He also denies the existence ofcomfort women and theNanjing Massacre. He regards the postwar view of history as a "masochistic views of history" that was brainwashed by the policies ofSCAP GHQ.[39][40]
Kamiya has called gender equality policies a mistake, saying that they would support women into work which would mean they would be prevented from having more children.[41][42]
In his opening remarks at the2025 House of Councillors announcement ceremony, he made statements in relation to measures to combat the declining birthrate, such as, "We've been making mistakes up until now, with things like gender equality. It's good for women to advance in society, but only young women can have children," "I'm sorry, but older women can't have children," and "Women who give birth and raise children should be given a monthly payment of ¥100,000 per child. This is better than working part-time or in an office."[43][44]
He is opposed to the LGBT Awareness Promotion Act.[45] In a street speech in 2023, he said, "Diversity, political correctness, and gender equality are communism." and "If we do exactly what the Communist Party says, Japan will be ruined.[46] In July 2023,Sankei Shimbun said, "Before we can show understanding towards LGBT, we need to increase understanding towards giving birth and raising goddamn children." "That's why we all need to say it together. We don't need LGBT, and there's no need to increase understanding."[47]
In a public speech, Kamiya said his party is "fine with people having a mistress".[14][b][60]
It was reported that according to Kamiya's old acquaintance, one of Kamiya's favorite books wasMein Kampf byAdolf Hitler. He said that Kamiya recommended this book to him.[61]
In response to the news thatCharlie Kirk wasassassinated inUtah, three days after he had attended and lectured at a Sanseito event held inTokyo, Kamiya said he was deeply saddened and shocked. He expressed his condolences, saying, "Charlie left us with a wealth of vital messages. Though his life was taken, no one can take his convictions or silence the message he carried. We will honor him in the only way worthy of his example: by treasuring what we received from him, by telling it faithfully, and by carrying it forward—here in Japan and beyond."[62][63][PR 1]
In that short time, he became more than a distinguished guest—he became a comrade, committed to building the future with us. We had promised to meet again at his year-end event and had begun to imagine the work we would take on together. Charlie left us with a wealth of vital messages. Though his life was taken, no one can take his convictions or silence the message he carried. We will honor him in the only way worthy of his example: by treasuring what we received from him, by telling it faithfully, and by carrying it forward—here in Japan and beyond. To his family, to our friends at Turning Point, and to all who loved him, we extend our deepest condolences and our unwavering resolve to continue the work we pledged to undertake together. Rest in peace, Charlie. We will see you again.
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| National | |
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