Outside a train station near Tokyo, hundreds of people cheer as Sohei Kamiya, head of the surging nationalist party Sanseito, criticizes Japan’s rapidly growing foreign population.

As opponents, separated by uniformed police and bodyguards, accuse him of racism, Kamiya shouts back, saying he is only talking common sense.

Sanseito, while still a minor party, made big gains in July’s parliamentary election, and Kamiya’s “Japanese First” platform of anti-globalism, anti-immigration and anti-liberalism is gaining broader traction ahead of a ruling party vote Saturday that will choose the likely next prime minister.

  • MintyFresh@lemmy.world
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    5 days ago

    Racism and xenophobia aside, how many humans do we need? Our poor earth. A declining population is probably an ok thing. I think it’s the capitalist class ringing the alarm bell as they see their profit forecasts take a blow. How many hundreds of millions should that island hold?

    • Jhex@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      This vid explains the situation better than I can (it’s about South Korea but Japan is basically in the same boat)

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufmu1WD2TSk

      From a higher abstraction vantage point, you are not wrong, but you are basically advocating for entire countries to disappear

      • Eezyville@sh.itjust.works
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        5 days ago

        If the entire country wants to enact policies and cultures that would lead to their disappearance then who are we to tell them otherwise?

        • Jhex@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          rational people?

          But you are being disingenuous here… it’s not the entirety of Japan, same as the entirety of Murica did not choose to swim in the sewer with MAGA… yet they are forced to by a loud minority and a push over majority

      • Taldan@lemmy.world
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        5 days ago

        While true, that’s an inherently unsustainable model. Pensions need to be self-sustaining, rather than relying on the next generation to pay for them. It’s ridiculous that one generation basically got a free generation and now every generation afterwards is paying the previous generation’s retirement

        • jj4211@lemmy.world
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          5 days ago

          There’s the quantatitve thing of currency, but also simply the reality that people actually have to work to provide the things the retired people need. In this case the money issue is modeling a more intrinsic issue. With fewer young workers the retirement age has to go up to maintain a viable ratio of non-workers to workers. Yes technology and such can also help things for the better, but roughly that’s the state of things.