In the scorching summer streets of Tokyo, the Senate election posters adorned with colorful candidate posters were plastered across the city. The battle was unprecedentedly fierce. Candidates from various parties were running in the high temperatures, and Japanese Prime Minister and head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Taro Kono, had been canvassing in various locations for days, repeatedly urging, “This is the most critical battle, please help us.”
On July 20th, Japan’s 27th Senate election took place. This election was seen as a test of whether Kono’s cabinet would survive, with his support rate dropping to its lowest since he became Prime Minister. In the House of Representatives elections held last October, the coalition formed by the Liberal Democratic Party and the Public Interest Party did not secure more than half of the seats, becoming a minority government. Kono set the threshold for winning the Senate election as being able to hold more than half of the seats in the governing coalition.
The Japanese Senate has 248 seats, with members serving six-year terms and half of them are elected every three years. This year’s election will contest 125 seats, including those that will be up for renewal and one additional seat for a by-election. Currently, the Liberal and Public Interest Parties together hold 75 seats in non-renewable seats.
On July 19th, 2025, local time, in Ginza, Tokyo, before the Japanese Senate election, citizens listened to a politician’s speech. Photo by Visual China.
“Even if a monkey falls off a tree, it’s still a monkey. But once a politician loses an election, they become just another person,” said Naoki Nagata, a resident of Tokyo, when talking to The Paper (www.thapaper.cn). He mentioned this common saying about Japan, “Rising prices are shaking our foundation of life, and while campaign speeches are inspiring, how many politicians truly face the challenges of the people’s lives?” “I always feel there’s a mismatch between the lives of the public and political discourse.”
This election saw price increases and economic prosperity as significant campaign issues. Kono promised to raise wages as a top campaign promise and planned to distribute cash subsidies to all Japanese citizens. The opposition parties proposed tax cuts or the abolition of consumption taxes.
It is worth mentioning that the right-wing party “Kansei Party,” which has been in existence for only five years, made a claim during the election campaign to prioritize “Japanese citizens” and strictly manage foreigners, sparking significant reactions within Japan. On July 15th, the Japanese government established a new office, the “Social Initiative Office for Orderly Coexistence with Foreigners,” as a swift response to the election campaign.
As the issue of “foreigners” has fermented on social media, a large amount of negative comments and false information targeting foreigners have emerged, leading many to worry that the “exclusionary sentiment” could be intensified under the political agenda. However, the actual feelings of many foreigners living in Japan diverge from the hostile rhetoric portrayed online.
On July 19th, 2025, local time, in Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, northeast Japan, Japanese Prime Minister and ruling Liberal Democratic Party President Yoshihide Suga delivered a street speech one day before the Senate election. (Visual China)
“Save Your Rice,” Politicians “Spend Money”
Having moved to Tokyo’s Kita Ward for nearly a decade, Kenji has grown fond of this lively neighborhood with its strong sense of community. Surrounding his apartment is a shopping street, offering both cheap and tasty prepared food and grocery stores, as well as a variety of general merchandise stores. Every day, he can easily buy ingredients at these small shops to prepare three meals for the day. However, Kenji told The Paper that food prices have risen significantly this year, necessitating him to visit several supermarkets to find discounts and special offers. “Shopping has become more difficult than it used to be.”
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) has seen an increase of over 3% for six consecutive months since December last year, primarily due to price increases in non-fresh food items, especially rice. The so-called “Ryukyu Rice Crisis” has led to a surge in rice prices since the end of last year, until the government released reserves of rice this spring, which has managed to curb the rising price curve.
What shocked Kenji was the long-standing policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to maintain a “reduced farming” policy, which means artificially limiting grain production to maintain high rice prices.
As a result, merely because the supply and demand for rice differ by several hundred thousand tons, people have fallen into the situation of “eating rice sparingly.” “The issue of food is filled with political calculations, yet the public is completely unaware,” she said.
The rice crisis has led to continuous price increases, and Shigeru Ishiba announced in early July that he would change the rice policy, increasing rice production starting from 2025. Upon hearing this news, Naoko slightly breathed a sigh of relief but also raised questions: “Why had we been left unattended before?” She also recently saw news about “Japan’s annual tax revenue reaching a record high for five consecutive years.” “With tax revenue at a historical high, why are our dining tables increasingly strained?”
Naoko reviewed her family’s expenses after the pandemic, noting an increase in utility bills for daily necessities such as rice, vegetables, and eggs, along with doubling prices for coffee beans and chocolates. However, the income growth of Naoko and her husband was very minimal.
To save money, Naoko bulk-purchases food on supermarket special days, reduces dining out, postpones the updating of electronic products… She humorously mentioned a simple frugal trick—”avoid shopping when hungry.” She believes it’s important to cultivate a sense of frugality and hopes to make more savings under this mindset, as there’s no high expectations for salary increases.
Shigeru Ishiba emphasized during his speech in Kobe City on July 3rd, “We must spare no effort to achieve wage growth surpassing the rise in prices. Next year, we will further significantly increase the level of salaries.” He stressed, “Raising pay is the core of the growth strategy.”
In 2024, Japan’s minimum wage standard reached a historic high, with the national average hourly wage reaching 1055 yen (approximately 51 RMB), an increase of 51 yen over the previous year. Regarding the adjustment for 2025, Masahiro Aoyama, an economist at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Research Institute, predicted that the average hourly wage would increase by another 57 yen, potentially surpassing this year’s increase.
According to Nikkei, many business operators admit to being puzzled by the setting of unrealistic targets. Takashi Kudo, President of the Federation of Japanese Industrial Organizations, stated: “It is necessary to combine efforts in small and medium-sized enterprises’ productivity enhancement, government support policies, and the establishment of a price transmission mechanism across the entire society to enhance feasibility.”
Analysts believe that before prices can be fully transmitted and productivity can be improved, businesses may have to maintain operations through layoffs. Moreover, persistent inflationary pressures will suppress consumption, gradually erode corporate profit margins, and limit companies’ ability to raise wages, potentially undermining the virtuous cycle of wage and price increases sought by policymakers.
In addition to salary increases, the Liberal Democratic Party has proposed in the Senate election convention to distribute 20,000-40,000 yen in cash to all citizens of Japan. The LDP, which is co-ruling with the Public Ministries Union, has also launched a combination of tax cuts and subsidies to combat rising prices. The opposition parties generally include tax cuts for consumption in their Senate election conventions.
Former Prime Minister of Japan and leader of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Shinzo Abe, asked during the party debate in June: “The Liberal Democratic Party and the Public Ministries Union both promise welfare, isn’t this ‘spraying money’?” Yoshihide Suga, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, also raised the same question. In response, Taro Kono said: “The so-called spraying money policy refers to proposals that neither set core priorities nor prioritize them. In a sense, (the opposition’s proposals) are already close to this nature.”
Four years ago, during the preparatory period for the Liberal Democratic Party’s presidential election and the House of Representatives election, both parties proposed economic measures worth hundreds of billions of yen and tax cuts for consumption. At that time, Yoshikazu Shiraichi, the Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Finance, warned in October 2021 that Japan’s current fiscal situation was likened to “Titanic heading towards an iceberg,” criticizing various fiscal policies proposed by politicians as “a battle of spraying money.”
According to a report by Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese government’s debt as a percentage of GDP in 2023 reached a staggering 240%, ranking last among comparable countries and regions.
While salary increases, cash handouts, and tax cuts are indeed expected by the public, Nagai stated, “How will these promises be fulfilled after the election? It seems like policy implementation is another matter altogether.” Analysts point out that under the current minority-led administration, if opposition parties unite to demand tax cuts during the budget preparation for 2025, it’s likely to happen in some form. However, their demands were only made during the period of the Senate election, which has become commonplace for voters.
On July 19, 2025, local time in Niigata, Japan, Yoshihide Noda, the leader of the main opposition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, delivered a street speech one day before the Senate election. The speech was made in front of a crowd in Niigata.
The Reality of “Japan First” Voices
In this year’s Senate election, the competition in the Tokyo district was exceptionally fierce, with 32 candidates vying for seven seats. Candidates launched their offensive through campaign vehicles and street speeches. The Noda couple knew little about the candidates in their district but said they would vote based on the party.
Japanese voters, known for their political disinterest, typically pay little attention to elections. Since 1992, the voting rate for the Senate election has been below 60% for 12 consecutive times, with the previous Senate election in 2019 having a voter turnout of 52.05%. This election is expected to see an increase in voter turnout. By the end of July 13th, approximately 9.88 million people had already voted early, accounting for about 9% of all registered voters, an increase of about 27% from the same period last year. On July 19th, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications reported that by the 18th, more than 21.45 million people had already cast their votes for the Senate election, setting a new historical record.
Beyond the Japanese citizens, the Senate election also attracted attention from many foreigners living in Japan.
The emerging right-wing party “Party of Japan” has adopted the slogan “Japanese First,” bringing the issue of “foreigners” into the public eye. The Party advocates against “excessive reception of foreigners,” strictly limits foreign purchases of land and real estate, prudently reviews foreign enterprise acquisitions and infrastructure investments, and reassesses history education and the drafting of a new constitution.
The Party only contests in one by-election district, aiming to secure six seats. According to a poll conducted by Japanese media on the 13th, including local elections, the Party is expected to win more than ten seats.
Takashi Yoshida, a political science professor at Japan’s Kobe University, told Bloomberg that the “Party of Japan” will become a pioneer case of anti-globalizationist parties in Japan.
The call for “Japanese First” has also sparked discussions about social division or the destruction of diversity. However, the leader of the “Party of Japan,” Takashi Sakurauchi, clarified that “Japanese First” was just a slogan used during the campaign period and did not intend to stir up xenophobic sentiments. At the beginning of this month, during a campaign speech in Tokyo streets, protesters holding banners with slogans such as “Humanity does not differentiate first or second,” “‘Japanese First’ is just stirring up discrimination; I firmly oppose it,” refuted the “Party of Japan’s” exclusionary rhetoric.
Recently, many Chinese residents in Japan have felt an increasing discussion about the foreigner community, which is closely tied to the increase in foreign tourists, students, and permanent residents.
A Chinese tour guide living in Fukuoka told The Paper that he notices foreign tourists are back significantly more than before the pandemic, significantly stimulating the local economy, especially in the catering, hotel, and retail sectors, as tourists begin to recover. Meanwhile, there has been an increase in discussions about “foreigners” in society, particularly on social media where some less friendly voices can be heard. “But in reality, most people in Japan are very polite and gentle towards foreigners.”
In Fukuoka, a city with many tourists, the foreigners have become quite accustomed to the locals.
As early as 2003, Japan proposed the “Tourism-Based National Development” strategy, and the Shiba government set a goal of attracting 60 million visitors by 2030 and generating consumption of 15 trillion yen. By 2024, the number of international visitors to Japan had reached approximately 36.87 million, with spending reaching 8.1395 trillion yen, both setting new historical records.
Overtourism has also posed significant challenges to Japan, particularly in popular destinations where tourists congregate, facing issues such as traffic congestion, noise pollution, and waste management. In the fiscal year 2024 supplementary budget, the Japanese government allocated 15.82 billion yen for emergency measures to prevent and alleviate overtourism and improve the reception environment for foreign tourists.
On Japanese social media platforms, posts about foreign nationals not paying their national health insurance and students receiving preferential treatment are widely circulated. “I cannot accept the current policy of preferring foreigners,” said Saaya, a candidate from the “Party of Choice” in Tokyo’s district, opening his street speech on the 12th, claiming that “Chinese master’s students can receive up to 2.9 million yen (approximately 130,000 RMB) per year.”
The “Tokyo News” reported that the “distributing 2.9 million yen to Chinese people” mentioned in the speech likely refers to the “Next Generation Researcher Challenge Research Program (SPRING)” established by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to support outstanding students in research. The Human Resources Policy Section of the Ministry clarified: “This is not an exemption system for specific countries.” Although Chinese students make up a high proportion, other nationalities also benefit, with 60% of the recipients being Japanese. Despite this, similar rumors continue to spread on social media.
Zhang Zhang studied in Tokyo, Japan, from a language school to university graduation and then pursued a master’s degree.
She introduced to The Paper that, from 2020 to the present, she has received a total of approximately 200,000 Japanese yen in direct non-tax subsidies. The cost of medical expenses is covered by 70% through the National Health Insurance system, with individuals paying the remaining 30%. She noted that policies in recent years have clearly demonstrated Japan’s eagerness for international students and talents, and these preferential treatments and insurance are part of the publicity efforts aimed at attracting people to Japan.
Several Chinese students and residents living and studying in Japan told The Paper that they have not experienced discrimination in Japan for many years, instead feeling an increasing acceptance and inclusivity towards foreigners. They believe that the fermenting topics on social media platforms might be related to elections.
Japanese media reports indicate that amidst soaring prices and widespread dissatisfaction, the “Party of Progressive Democrats” has been leveraging the issue of “foreigner privileges” to woo some conservative voters who are disillusioned with the Shinzo Abe administration. This strategy mirrors the exclusionary policies of right-wing parties in Europe and America. The coalition of Liberal Democratic Party and Kyodo Party may be impacted by such populist issues.