Japan Unveils New Agency to Ease Concerns About Foreigners as Elections Approach

Japan established a new administrative body Tuesday in response to public concerns over the sharp increase in foreigners in the country in recent years, a move that comes less than a week before elections in which immigration features prominently, Reuters reported. 

Government officials said the new organization will serve as a cross-agency “control tower” responsible for addressing issues linked to foreigners, such as crime and overtourism. 

The body was formed last month after a group of lawmakers belonging to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) proposed initiatives for a “society of orderly and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals.” 

Some of those initiatives included stricter requirements for foreigners seeking to buy real estate or switch their license to a Japanese one. 

Japan has generally tried to keep a homogeneous population through strict immigration laws. However, due to low birth rates and an ageing labor force, the country began easing migration policies. 

While the number of foreign nationals in Japan reached about 3.8 million last year, they still accounted for only 3 percent of the total population. 

Still, the Japanese have become increasingly worried over the influx of foreigners.  

Opinion polls show increasing support for a currently tiny populist party, Sanseito, which wants a “Japanese First” agenda and migration halted. 

Polls also indicate that the LDP and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, risk losing their majority in the upper house in the July 20 election, where half of the 248 upper house seats are up for grabs. 

The LDP has governed Japan almost uninterrupted since 1955, and analysts say the opposition is too fractured to seriously challenge its power, according to Agence France-Presse. 

However, Ishiba is already struggling with low approval ratings due to public frustration over inflation.  

The LDP coalition currently holds 141 upper house seats and needs to win at least 50 to maintain a simple majority.