How a YouTuber Shook Up Japanese Politics | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G
Hell, it’s Have you heard about Sohei Kamiya? Japan’s latest political sensation. But his political career did not begin with victory. It began with rejection. Kamya used to be an English teacher. Then for some time he worked at a supermarket. In 2012 he dabbled in politics. He was a member of the long ruling party, the LDP. He contested the election on an LDP ticket. Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinszu AB campaigned for him. But Kamya lost. Now 13 years later, his life has come a full circle. His new party, Sincedto, is shaking up Japanese politics. It wants to make Japan great again. And yesterday, it made a dent. Japan went to polls on Sunday. The Sensedto party walked away with 14 seats in parliament and the ruling party, the LDP, it lost its majority for the first time in 15 years. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is on thin ice. So what happened? Why did the LDP stumble? Why is Sincedo resonating with the voters? And what does this political earthquake mean for Japan and the rest of the world? We’ll start with the elections. On Sunday, Japan voted for its upper house. It has 248 seats in total. A ruling coalition needs 50 seats. And the ruling LDP was aiming to hold that line. LDP is a liberal democratic party. It has governed Japan almost non-stop since 1955. This is also the party of Shinszo Abi, Japan’s longest serving prime minister. But the ground has shifted and so has the mood of the Japanese voter. In the upper house election that was held yesterday, we the Liberal Democratic Party LDP have received an extremely harsh judgment from the people. The LDP needed 50 seats. They got only 47. So they were the biggest losers in this election. And who was the biggest winner? The Sensed Party. They have won just 14 seats, which may not sound like much in a house with 248 seats. But this election result is a seismic shift. Let me tell you why. Back in 2020, the Wuhan virus had gripped the world. Japan was under lockdown like most other countries. Public trust was crumbling. That’s when Sohi Kamiya saw his opening. He turned to YouTube and he started talking. He talked about vaccine conspiracies, about shadowy global elites, and about what he called a silent invasion of foreigners. And the people of Japan listened to him. He called this movement sensed. In Japanese, it means do it yourself. And he offered a slogan, Japanese first. The Sensedo party wanted to make Japan great again. And that message hit home. Which brings us to this election. Yesterday’s election. There were three things in focus. Economy, migration, or immigration rather, and identity. Japan’s economy is in a rut. Inflation is biting, especially the rising prices of rice. Wages are stagnant. There’s over tourism, and it’s overwhelming the locals. Then there’s immigration. In 2024, there were 3.8 8 million foreigners or foreign residents in Japan. That’s only 3% of their total population. But Japan, remember, has long been a closed society. So even this 3% feels like a tidal wave. And the Sensed Party has tabbed into this sentiment. It rallied against cheap foreign labor. It called for a cap on non-Japanese residents in every city. It slammed Japan’s loss of sovereignity. And in doing so, it gave voice to the frustration of many. I think the ruling party had great opportunities such as Trump’s outrage and the soaring rice prices. Had the ruling party resolved even one of these issues, their approval rate would have gone up, but we didn’t feel anything and it seems like the US would continue to push us around. I think the government should tax people in a more effective way. It should tax the people who are earning a lot. For those people who are not earning much, it’s best if there is a way for them to not suffer. So where does this leave the LDP, Japan’s ruling party for them this is not just an electoral loss. This is political humiliation. Last year the LDP lost control of the lower house and now they have lost the upper house as well. Losing control of both houses of parliament makes governing a nightmare. Budgets get blocked, reforms are stalled, and you’re negotiating with the world on a weak footing. Japan faces 25% trade tariffs from the 1st of August. So, it is racing to cut a deal with the US. Prime Minister hoped to go into those talks with a strong mandate. Instead, he’s walking on thin ice. His domestic loss will hurt his position in the trade talks as well. And beyond that, this is a political death nail for Ishiba himself. He insists that he will not step down. But if history is any guide, he may have to. His own party is circling. Other names are being floated. So it’s almost game over for the Japanese prime minister. Even if he hangs on to power, he won’t have much authority. And what does it mean for Japan? Has the country embraced the far right? Or is it just punishing the ruling party? Right now, it’s too early to call this a complete shift. Japan’s electorate is famously fickle. Populist parties often surge here and then fade. But the sensed success taps into deeper anxieties, especially about the economy. And those don’t go away after one election. And more than that, this is a mandate against the ruling party. Japan thinks that the LDP has failed and that anger reflected at the ballot box. So for now, a YouTuber has hijacked Japan’s politics and the party that has run the country for 70 years has some serious soulsearching to do. First post now available in nine languages on YouTube, English 36, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, beautiful. Go to settings, click on audio track, and select the language of your choice. Be the first to know what’s happening around you in your first language. First boost. [Music]
How a YouTuber Shook Up Japanese Politics | Vantage with Palki Sharma | N18G
A YouTuber-turned-politician just shook the foundations of Japanese politics. Meet Sohei Kamiya — once a supermarket employee, now the rising face of Japan’s far-right party, Sanseito. His party just won 14 seats, while Japan’s ruling LDP lost its majority in the Upper House for the first time in 15 years. From vaccine conspiracies to nationalist rhetoric, Kamiya’s rise taps into economic frustration, immigration fears, and a desire for change. Is Japan embracing populism — or simply punishing the old guard? Palki Sharma tells you.
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Japan | Elections | Sohei Kamiya | Youtuber | LDP | Shigeru Ishiba | Firstpost | World News | News Live | Vantage | Palki Sharma | News
#japan #youtuber #soheikamiya #elections2025 #firstpost #vantageonfirstpost #palkisharma #worldnews
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27 Comments
All indians to stay aware of
He is different from Trump.
He admits his own faults and prioritizes the opinions of open-minded party members over his own, engaging in dialogue with them.
They want to save their 6 year old kids from Mamud . What happened to white British girls in UK when Mamud entered the country is not hidden from anyone .
It seems "one of the powerful countries" is deciding other country's politics via "covert operation".
Sounds like Trump, hope he is not..
Hmmm CIA at work ?
Hope he is not the Arvind Kejriwal of Japan
So for left only indigenous culture of black and Muslims matter as others try to preserve their culture it's right wing like the he'll?
YO WHAT THE HECK? 😮
End globalists agenda. End west wokeliberals's agenda
A USA experiment???
In the USA, Americans are looking for a third front, we can see it happening soon in USA too?
2:59 wuhan virus 🙌🙌 huge praise
Your voice used to be so relaxing prior to COVID-19….I understand that you're indian and your geopolitical issues with China….but this Wuhan virus needs to stop…you are giving news but you somehow drag china into it…everyday some Wuhan virus nonsense…I don't hear you refer to the black plague or leptospirosis as the Mumbai virus or the New Delhi virus since rats originated from the indian subcontinent…enough already….that's why I no longer listen to you regularly and I'm not even Chinese. I'm Caribbean
This is a big WIN for Japan, JAPAN NEEDS TO PUT JAPANESE PEOPLE FIRST 🙏🏾👍🏾! Don’t let anyone convince you that you are racist for not changing your culture to suit foreigners. Its an evil illusion that’s already been done to Europe
Enough of Japan and America, "FIRST Post", tell us about Dharmasthala. Why are you not covering the most important issue that's going on in India?
kamiya appeals to younger generation using SNS. I'm an English teacher at a public higher school. It's my purpose to educate
young students, so they will have good judgments, not like kamiya talking nonsense stupid lies to cause hatred feeling to the nation!
右翼と言うより強硬派に近い政党
Sorry to say, Japan is not like freightened india like always afraid to fight against anyone. They are monsters small country single handedly fighted whole world. Sleeping gaint. India is full of sheeps, Japan full of lions. Even today chinese afraid of small country Japan wrath of past occupation But Large India face humiliated defeat against china.
In the race of making countries great again, the world will surely become inhabitable. That's what happen when kids are elected as leaders ( biggest kid of them all is 79 year old orange )…
Many countries are going right..
Ex Engrish Teacher…. that explains the anti gaijin inferiority complex
Why is it that when the people dont want mass migration, they are called far right?
No audio track option here
JAPAN FIRST 🥇
Is this the comeback of imperial japan??
How is this far right?
The world is turning rights 🎉