Politics A new political force: the Conservative Party of Japan

On 1 September 2023, Hyakuta Naoki, a former NHK governor, author of the controversial bestseller The Eternal Zero and a political commentator, announced the formation of the Conservative Party of Japan (日本保守党 Nihon Hoshutō) with Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura as its Vice President and journalist Kaori Arimoto as its Secretary General. Hyakuta is known for his right-wing political views and for denying Japanese war crimes before and during World War II.

Asahi reported that the party, which opposes immigration, gender equality and the pacifist Constitution, is gaining traction, particularly on social media, but its ultimate intentions remain unclear.

Its official X (formerly Twitter) account has more than 330,000 followers, far outpacing existing political parties, including the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which has about 250,000 followers. The Conservative Party of Japan said it has more than 57,000 members. For recognition as a political party, an organization must have five or more Diet members or have received 2 percent or more of votes cast nationwide in either the last Lower House election or in one of the last two Upper House elections, according to the internal affairs ministry. The new organization has stated that it will eventually seek seats in the Diet, but Hyakuta and other leading figures have not declared their intention to run. Lawmakers of existing parties have dismissed the group as one with limited appeal. And one member of the organization said it is simply Hyakuta's fan club.

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Hyakuta, who has been close to conservative members of the LDP, including former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, criticized the LDP, saying that the party was not quite right. He cited the LDP-led passage of legislation promoting an "understanding" of LGBT issues.

In his speeches appealing for constitutional reform and other policies, Hyakuta has said, "There are many loose-headed female members in the LDP." Hyakuta also has no love for the LDP members who have been described as possible successors to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida: former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi; former LDP secretary-general Shigeru Ishiba; and digital minister Taro Kono. "They are all nepo babies. The three idiots of the LDP," Hyakuta said.

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The current weakness of the Kishida administration is water to the mills of dangerous right-wing nutters such as Hyakuta. Let's hope his movement will not gain further traction. We'll be watching him and keep adding to this thread.