Japan’s far-right Sanseito party won a record number of seats in the country’s recent upper-house elections, stripping the ruling party of its majority and cementing itself as an outspoken voice

Its leader is a former supermarket manager who created his political party on YouTube in the depths of the coronavirus pandemic and campaigned on the Trumpian message “Japanese First.”

The small rightwing populist party led by firebrand Sohei Kamiya won 14 seats in Sunday’s Upper House election.

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

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 Sanseito party tapped into discontent over issues galvanizing voters worldwide: inflation, immigration and a political class dismissed as out of touch.

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.

Anti-establishment parties focused on wages, immigration and an unresponsive political elite struck a chord with working-age people in Japan.

Will Japan become the latest country to fall to the populist right? - Japan’s right wing Sanseito party made surprise gains in Sunday’s election after running an anti-foreigner campaign