Donning a MAGA cap and his trademark colorful suit, NHK Party leader Takashi Tachibana addressed a crowd in front of JR Kakogawa Station in Hyogo Prefecture on Friday. The controversial politician, who is running in the House of Councillors race for the Hyogo electoral district, started the stump speech by stating that he is “afraid of foreigners.” He then added, “You might not feel as much fear with white people.”
Takashi Tachibana’s Latest Controversial Remarks
Tachibana went on to say, “It’s scary when groups of Black people or people of Islamic background are gathered in front of the station. It’s impossible to walk past at night when there are four or five them frolicking in front of you, and you don’t know if they speak Japanese. The current law doesn’t allow us to regulate them, so we can’t tell them to go away.”
Tachibana, who previously suggested that genocide is the solution to overpopulation and that “we should just wipe out races that have babies like idiots,” was attacked in March, not by a foreigner, but a Japanese national. He was cut on his head and neck with a machete-like weapon, though his injuries were not serious. Suspect Shion Miyanishi, who was arrested at the scene, told the police he “intended to kill” Tachibana.
Foreigners ‘Disrespect Japanese Culture’ Says Conservative Party of Japan Leader
Tachibana wasn’t the only Japanese politician to voice controversial views about foreigners over the past few days. During a stump speech on Saturday, Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the minor right-wing opposition Conservative Party of Japan, said that foreign people “disrespect Japanese culture, ignore the rules, assault Japanese people and steal their belongings. In northern Kanto you see many towns like this that are no-go zones. If we don’t do something about it; Japan’s public safety will be threatened.”
The right-wing populist party Sanseito, meanwhile, has been gaining a lot of attention due to its “Japanese First” approach. Speaking at the FCCJ last Thursday, leader Sohei Kamiya insisted that this approach was “not based on xenophobia.” Responding to a question about immigration, he said, “Our party is not in favor of accepting migrants to substitute for the drop in Japan’s population,” adding, “Please understand we’re not intending to exclude foreign workers who are here legally. We just believe cheap foreign labor is not the right way.”
