The House of Councilors election has concluded. As expected, the conservative coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito failed to secure a majority, resulting in an outcome that is expected to bring about new developments in the political landscape. However, what stole the spotlight was the remarkable rise of the Sanseito Party (Party of Do It Yourself). Just five years after its formation, the party expanded its influence from one seat in the previous election to 14 seats in this election. I One slogan that particularly caught attention this time was “Japanese First.” This is the Japanese version of U.S. President Trump's “America First” policy.

Their arguments include: We must reclaim Japan for the Japanese people; Japanese people are suffering from rising prices; The lack of improvement in Japanese living standards is the fault of the recent increase in foreigners; Foreigners work as cheap labor, which is driving down Japanese wages; Japanese people are struggling, yet foreigners are being favored in Japanese society; It is unfair that foreigners can receive the same medical treatment as Japanese people despite often failing to pay insurance premiums; Therefore, the influx of foreigners should be restricted.

There is a big lie hidden here. Foreigners are not lowering Japanese wages. The same wages are paid for the same work. Just ask the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare. The percentage of unpaid insurance premiums is higher among Japanese than foreigners, according to official reports. The slogan of the Sanseito Party is a simple diversion tactic, blaming foreigners when something inconvenient happens. But if foreigners were to disappear, who would take care of your parents? Just considering that alone, excluding foreigners makes no sense.

I am saddened that the loud slogans of this political party, ringing out across Japan, has completely upended Japanese morality. Until now, Until now, Japanese people have never openly told their neighbors to "get out" or "go back to your country," even if they disliked them. This is not because all Japanese people are kind-hearted moralists, or noble gentlemen and ladies. Perhaps it was a selfish concern that I might find myself in a similar situation someday, or that my children might suffer unpleasant experiences abroad. But at least they were able to control themselves from saying or doing anything that would directly hurt their neighbors. There has been hate speech and blatant xenophobic behavior in the past, but these were localized actions by a few extremist individuals.

However, ever since the Sanseito Party of Japan fielded a large number of candidates in this recent national election, securing a platform for public speaking, these straightforward anti-xenophobic rhetoric has become commonplace. This huge wave has become so strong that no one is speaking out against it, and even the most basic sense of conscience that we should live in harmony with our neighbors has been swept away. The brakes that had previously been applied by Japanese reason and sensibility have now failed, and seeing people who, far from feeling embarrassed, are now triumphantly calling for the expulsion of foreigners has shocked me even more than the election results themselves.

On a positive note, there were some good things about the election results. here were 42 women elected, accounting for 33.6% of the 125 seats up for re-election. In the previous election, 35 women were elected, accounting for 28.0% of the seats up for re-election, making this the highest number of female members to date. The House of Councilors has a total of 248 seats, of which 29.8% are now women. We're just a hair's breadth away from 30%. Of the 465 total members of the House of Representatives, 73 are women, accounting for 15.7%, so it can be said that the female candidates and their supporters for the House of Councilors performed pretty well.

By political party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan has 12 female winners out of 22, accounting for 54.5%, making women more than half. Next is the Sanseito Party, with 7 female winners out of 14, accounting for half of the party's elected members. These two parties are contributing to increasing the proportion of women of the Diet.

How should we interpret the increase in female lawmakers in a party whose campaign promise is to exclude foreigners by putting “Japanese First”? Let's consider this in relation to the party's efforts to address recent issues.

First, the increase in female lawmakers raises expectations for the introduction of a system of optional separate surnames for married couples. However, the Sanseito Party's campaign promise is the same as the LDP's proposal to promote the use of maiden names as common names. While women account for 24.1% of the Liberal Democratic Party's elected members, women make up half of the Sanseito Party's elected members, which should give them a stronger voice within the party. I hope they will demonstrate their capabilities when deciding the party's future policies. Just because they are women does not necessarily mean they will promote a system of optional separate surnames for married couples, but the newly elected female lawmakers should be aware that the overwhelming majority of those struggling under the current same-surname system are women, and many of them were elected with the support of these women. Therefore, I hope they will take a good look at reality and act accordingly.

Next, let's look at measures to address the declining birthrate. The Constitutional Democratic Party and the Communist Party prioritize increasing young people's income in their campaign promises, but the Sanseito Party, like the Liberal Democratic Party, prioritizes economic support. In particular, they attracted voters with a promise of providing 100,000 yen per child to make it easier for women to choose to raise children without working. They said women should stay at home and focus on raising their children because they would receive 100,000 yen per child. Is this really what the party's female members and the newly elected female lawmakers have thought through? I want to ask you, would you say yes if someone told you to focus on raising your children in exchange for a 100,000 yen grant? You yourselves have struggled to raise your children, and through various circumstances, you have now become members of the Diet—haven't you carved out your own lives? Political parties should not be allowed to dictate a woman's life.

Moreover, the idea of using 100,000 yen to bind women to childcare is absurd. While 100,000 yen might cover the cost of baby formula and diapers, from the perspective of women's labor force, it is not worth it. Unfortunately, it is obvious that once a woman becomes a housewife to raise children, returning to society after childcare ends is not an easy feat for her. This is a highly disrespectful policy that recognizes women's long lives only during the childcare period.

In order to address the declining birthrate, political parties should prioritize creating economic stability and an environment that will make young people want to get married, rather than interfering with how women work and raise children. If work is enjoyable and financial prospects are good, marriage and child-rearing will likely be part of their life plans.

A 100,000 yen payment is completely different from a policy that consider women's entire lives. Will the women who were elected this time follow the party's policy?

I sincerely hope that the new women elected to the House of Councilors female senators are not puppets of a party leader who promotes policies that exclude foreigners and discriminate against women.

Original article in Japanese by Orie Endo
https://wan.or.jp/article/show/12031