At a press conference on Monday, Sohei Kamiya expressed anger after his scheduled lecture at the University of Tokyo was canceled due to a bomb threat. The Sanseito leader was expected to deliver a speech and take part in a debate with members of a politics club on Saturday. However, thousands of attendees were forced to evacuate the Hongo Campus following the threat.
A message stating that bombs would be set off because “Representative Kamiya is coming” was reportedly posted to the university’s public inquiry form around 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. The organizing committee and Ugonoshu — the political student circle hosting the lecture — both received emails stating that bombs had been “planted in various locations on the Hongo and Yayoi campuses and would be detonated.”
University of Tokyo Festival Resumes After Bomb Threat
The lecture was subsequently canceled after 1 p.m. By 2 p.m., all events at the festival on Saturday were suspended. The two-day annual May Festival resumed the following day after “the safety of the campus was confirmed.” To strengthen security measures, it was announced that baggage checks would be conducted on all attendees.
“I was deeply shocked and felt a sense of anger,” said Kamiya. “Using violent threats simply because someone has different views or opinions is detrimental to public discourse.” He added that the threat “deprived the students of the opportunity to ask questions, which is a very serious matter.”
Kamiya continued, “The lecture was about why I became a politician, what the current social situation is like and what the historical background is, and what students should do to engage with politics now. There was almost nothing about foreigners. First of all, we do not engage in discriminatory behavior towards foreigners. Nor do we do so towards LGBT people.”
About the Sanseito Party
Founded in 2020, Sanseito is a right-wing populist, anti-globalist political party that promoted anti-establishment messaging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocating a “Japanese First” platform, the party campaigns heavily on anti-immigration rhetoric. Sanseito secured 14 seats in the Upper House election last year, up from just one beforehand. In the 2026 Lower House election, it won 15 seats, compared with two previously.
Related Posts
- Sanseito, Explained: The Alarming Rise of Japan’s Far-Right Movement
- Disgraced Ito City Mayor Yet To Resign After False University Claims Revealed
- Why Japanese Leftists Are Using Melonpan to Mock Sanseito
Updated On May 19, 2026
