In this week’s news roundup we report on the House of Councillors election, as Sohei Kamiya, the leader of Sanseito, insists his party’s “Japanese First” approach isn’t xenophobic. Also this week, more than 1,000 earthquakes have been observed around the Tokara Islands in just under two weeks. Donald Trump calls Japan “very spoiled” while also claiming it doesn’t buy American rice. The JMA reveals that Japan experienced its hottest June on record. The Japanese metal band Crossfaith has suspended activities due to Daiki Koide’s inappropriate messages to a 14-year-old fan. And in sport, Naomi Osaka reaches the third round of Wimbledon.
Sanseito Leader Speaks About Party’s ‘Japanese First’ Approach
Official campaigning for the July 20 House of Councillors election in Japan began on Thursday. More than 500 candidates are running for 125 seats in the 248-seat upper chamber. The focus of the election is whether the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner Komeito will be able to hold onto their majority. They need 50 seats. The relatively new right-wing populist party Sanseito, meanwhile, is aiming for six seats. Led by Sohei Kamiya, the party has been gaining a lot of attention due to its “Japanese First” approach.
Speaking at the FCCJ on Thursday, 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’s not the right way.” During his first campaign speech, Kamiya reportedly stated that Japan needs more young women to give birth because “old women can’t have children.” However, the livestream allegedly cut off while he was saying it.
Akusekijima, part of the Tokara Islands | Image: Victoria Bennett
Tokara Islands Hit by More Than 1,000 Earthquakes in Two Weeks
The Tokara Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture are continuing to shake. In less than two weeks, the archipelago, which consists of 12 small islands located between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima, has experienced more than 1,000 earthquakes. The seismic swarm has further ignited fears of a catastrophic disaster hitting Japan soon and, understandably, left residents feeling apprehensive. “It feels like it’s always shaking,” one person who lives there told the regional broadcaster MBC. “It’s very scary to even fall asleep.” Another commented, “It’s not clear when all this will end. I should think about whether to evacuate my kids.”
From June 21 to late afternoon on Thursday, a total of 1,031 earthquakes were recorded in the region. That same day, at 4:13 p.m., a magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Toshima Village. It registered lower 6 on the shindo scale, which measures the degree of shaking. Lower 6 indicates that most people would find it difficult to remain standing. A 5.6 magnitude quake struck the same village on Wednesday afternoon at 3:26 p.m. On Friday morning, Toshima residents started departing the village, heading to a port in Kagoshima, where they are expected to stay in temporary accommodation.
Image: Jason Rost
Japan Endures Hottest June on Record
On Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) revealed that Japan experienced its hottest June on record. It said the nationwide average temperature was 2.34 degrees Celsius above normal, based on figures recorded between 1991 and 2020. It was also close to 1 degree Celsius warmer than the previous record set five years ago. The most intense temperatures last month were recorded between June 16 and June 18. Much of Japan was still in the rainy season at the time. The agency said the severe heat is expected to continue throughout July.
In the past few days, many countries in the Northern Hemisphere have experienced unusual heat waves. “Extreme heat is no longer a rare event — it has become the new normal,” said UN Secretary General António Guterres. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the world will simply have to get used to these extreme conditions. “As a result of human-induced climate change, extreme heat is becoming more frequent, more intense. It’s something we have to learn to live with,” said WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis. She added: “What can we expect in the future? More of the same, even worse.”
Trump Calls Japan ‘Very Spoiled,’ Claims It Won’t Buy US Rice
Driven by a surge in domestic prices, Japan has been importing historically high volumes of US rice over the past year or so. According to US Census Bureau trade data, the country purchased $298 million worth of the cereal grain in 2024 and, in the first four months of this year, bought $114 million worth. Yet despite these figures, US President Donald Trump claimed on Monday that Japan was refusing to take American rice. Posting on Social Truth, he wrote that it was an example of “how spoiled Countries have become with respect to the United States of America.”
Speaking to a reporter aboard Air Force One the following day, he described Japan as “very tough” and “very spoiled,” adding, “I’m not sure we’re going to make a deal. I doubt it… On trade, they’ve been very unfair, and those days are gone.” He threatened to impose a “30% or 35%” tariff on the East Asian nation if a deal is not reached. Earlier in the week Trump criticized Japan for not taking American cars. With less than a week to go before the July 9 deadline for trade deals, talks between the two nations remain deadlocked.
Crossfaith Suspend Activities Due to Guitarist’s Inappropriate Messages to 14-Year-Old Fan
On Monday, the Japanese metal band Crossfaith announced via X that the group is suspending all activities for the foreseeable future. The decision was made after it came to light that guitarist Daiki Koide had engaged in “inappropriate communication” with a teenage fan on Instagram. The band’s X account posted screenshots of the conversation. Koide described the teenager as “beautiful,” and later said he wanted to see her. After she told him she was only 14, Koide replied, “You’re so young!! But very mature!! I’m 37 years old!! But I don’t think it’s a problem.”
The fan’s mother contacted Ronnie Radke, vocalist of the American band Falling in Reverse, who Crossfaith recently supported on tour. Radke subsequently posted a video on his Instagram page, condemning Koide and the organizers of the Graspop Metal Meeting 2025 festival in Belgium, which he said let Crossfaith play even after he had shared information about the conversation. On Saturday, the band announced that it was dismissing Koide from the band “effective immediately.” Two days later, the group announced that it was suspending its activities. Koide posted on X, stating that he “is not a pedophile.”
Naomi Osaka Through to Round Three at Wimbledon
On Wednesday, Naomi Osaka celebrated the birthday of her daughter Shai with a convincing 6-3 6-2 win over Kateřina Siniaková of the Czech Republic in the women’s singles second round at Wimbledon. In doing so, she tied her best record at the tournament. The four-time Grand Slam winner reached the third-round stage in 2017 and 2018. She will play Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the third round. In the men’s competition, the 2019 Wimbledon junior champion Shintaro Mochizuki was narrowly beaten by world No. 20 Karen Khachanov from Russia in the second round.
In other sports news, the Japan XV rugby team were overpowered by New Zealand’s Maori All Blacks, losing 53-20. A crowd of around 37,000 people lined the streets of Tsubata in Ishikawa Prefecture for the homecoming parade of Onosato. He was named sumo’s 75th yokozuna in May. Shohei Ohtani, meanwhile, smashed his 30th home run of the season in the Dodgers’ 6-1 win over the Chicago White Sox. It’s the fifth straight season he has reached that milestone. Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched seven innings in the game, allowing one run and three hits in seven innings.
