A national election was held in Japan on July 20th.
Simple good-versus-evil narratives—us (the righteous) vs. them (the villains)—always seem to resonate with conspiracy theorists. In this year’s Upper House election, a certain party that loudly championed the slogan “Japan First” and trafficked in wild conspiracy theories made significant gains.
Despite stirring up division by blaming foreigners for many of Japan’s woes, the party’s leader, when asked in a post-election interview, “Do you think foreigners have special privileges in Japan?” simply shrugged and replied, “Special privileges for foreigners? I don’t think Japan has anything like that.”
As I watched the interview, I couldn’t help but think: conspiracy theories are a handy tool for attracting followers, but the more power one gains, the more inconvenient such fantasies become.
Just last month, I wrote skeptically about that “July 5th prophecy” that sent the spiritual crowd into a frenzy. I have little patience for occult nonsense or conspiracy thinking. Without hard evidence or any way to confirm it with your own eyes, why take such theories any more seriously than, “Well, I suppose anything’s possible”? Blind belief is out of the question.
That said, while I don’t care for that particular party, I find it bizarre that the media is dogpiling on them by claiming the very slogan “Japan First” is discriminatory. It’s perfectly normal for any country to prioritize its own citizens, especially in terms of taxpayers’ rights and fairness. In that context, “Japan First” does not mean “foreigners out.”
On a related note, Japan’s problem of “overtourism” has been making headlines for quite some time now.
After three decades of economic stagnation, the Japanese have become shockingly poor. Real wages have been falling for years, and according to the IMF, Japan’s GDP per capita (PPP, 2025) ranks 38th in the world. The Japanese, who once ranked 2nd in the world in terms of per capita wealth, now find themselves far removed from those prosperous days.
Wherever you go, tourist spots are crowded with affluent foreign visitors. More and more Japanese find themselves unable to enjoy the very services their own country provides. That, I suspect, is why the phrase “Japan First” has started to resonate with so many people.
Given that Japan is considered a relatively high-tax country, with a national burden rate hovering around 46%, it seems only fair that more local facilities offer resident discounts or even free entry, as is common in cities like San Francisco.
In San Francisco, city-run parks and museums, maintained by residents’ taxes, often feature “resident discounts” or “resident free admission.” Show your ID, and you can stroll in for free or at a steep discount.
It’s only natural that locals might feel disgruntled when tourist attractions, built and maintained with their tax money, are overrun by visitors, making it hard for residents to get in. Resident perks, then, are just a reasonable way to keep things balanced.
