Populist ideals are gaining traction in Japan, spurred by right-wing politicians running rampant elsewhere railing against "elitism", "globalism" and immigration.

Internal rivals and a resurgent nationalist right are jeopardising Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's already precarious position With his grasp on power slipping, Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has vowed to remain in office despite a stinging electoral rebuke that plunged his ruling coalition into fresh turmoil.

The ruling LDP and its junior partner Komeito both suffered significant losses amid widespread concerns over the rising cost of living and hostility to the political establishment as a whole.

Japan held elections for its upper house, the House of Councillors, on July 20. The vote proved a challenge for the conservative ruling Liberal Democ

Birthed on YouTube spreading Covid-19 conspiracy theories, the party broke into mainstream politics with its populist campaign.

In a result few predicted, the far-right Sanseito party has come out as one of the main winners in Japan’s upper house contest, securing 14 seats out

The success of Japanese right-wing party Sanseito in Sunday’s upper house election has the potential to unnerve global investors, who have been among the strongest supporters of the nation’s equity markets.

Koeda Yoshiyuki, a 51-year-old supporter, called Sanseito “the only party that can truly tackle the big problems Japan faces today”. Sanseito relied on social media, especially YouTube, to reach voters disheartened with politics-as-usual.

The opposition party Sanseito made a strong showing in the July 20 House of Councillors election in both constituency and proportional representation races, greatly boosting its strength from the single seat it secured for the first time in the chamber in the previous 2022 election via proportional representation.