Sohei Kamiya

is a Japanese politician who is the founder and Secretary General of the right-wing populist political party Sanseitō. Kamiya has been serving as a member of the House of Councillors since 2022 through the Proportional Representation Block.

A conspiracy theorist who promotes COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine propaganda, Kamiya gained international media attention while campaigning for the 2022 House of Councillors election due to his antisemitic rhetoric during public appearances and campaign rallies. His party has been described as a cult by his political opponents.

Early life

Kamiya was born in Takahama, Fukui. In 1996, he graduated from Fukui Prefectural Wakasa High School, majoring in science and mathematics. He then entered Kansai University's Faculty of Letters, Department of History and Geography (now called the Department of General Humanities). He moved to Suita, Osaka after graduating from the same university in 2001. He became a lecturer at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School. In 2002, he became an employee of Kamiya Store, a company run by his parents, and served as a store manager. In 2003, he made a short return as a lecturer at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School. In 2004, he enrolled in Kansai University Law School's Legal Professional Training Course, completing his studies in 2007 and obtaining a Juris Doctor degree.

Political career

Early years

In the 2007 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Suita City Council and was elected. He was inaugurated as a councilor on May 27, 2007. Kamiya founded the regional political party Suita Shinsengai in the same year. In 2010, he became a representative of the Kansai State Politicians Federation. In June of the same year, he established the Ryoma Project National Association and assumed the position of chairman. In 2011, Kamiya was re-elected as a member of the Suita City Council. He was then elected as the Vice Chairman of the City Council.

In November 2012, Kamiya joined the Liberal Democratic Party and became the head of the party's Osaka 13th district ( Higashiosaka) branch, replacing House of Representatives member Akira Nishino. Kamiya then resigned from his seat in the Suita City Council to run for the 2012 Japanese general election, with then-LDP President Shinzo Abe personally campaigning on behalf of Kamiya, but lost to Koichi Nishino from the Japan Restoration Party.

In 2013, Kamiya founded a YouTube channel named "ChGrandStrategy", promoting far-right politics, historical revisionism, and conspiracy theories. As of June 2023, the channel has 338,000 subscribers and over 3,000 videos.

In the 2015 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Osaka Prefectural Assembly as an Independent candidate for Suita's electoral district, but was defeated, placing 6th out of 6 candidates.

Sanseitō era

In 2019, Kamiya launched an online political organization "政党DIY" (Political party DIY). A year later in March 2020, he formed the political party "Sanseitō" alongside Manabu Matsuda, Yuya Watase, and Tsuneichiro Shinohara, and assumed the position of Secretary General.

On July 10, 2022, Kamiya filed his candidacy for the 2022 House of Councillors election for the Proportional Representation Block and was elected. He was inaugurated on July 26, 2022.

On January 30, 2023, five senior members of Sanseitō, including Kamiya, were sued by the NHK Party on the grounds of fraud. At a speech held in Shimonoseki on January 31, 2023, Kamiya criticized the NHK Party, claiming that "The NHK Party has executives who have ties to radical leftist groups and anti-Japan forces." In response, the NHK Party filed another lawsuit on February 2, 2023, claiming 100 million yen in damages against the Sanseitō and Kamiya.

Controversies

Antisemitism

While campaigning for Sanseitō in the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors election, Kamiya told the crowd that "Sanseitō would not sell out Japan to Jewish capital," a remark that was greeted with applause at the time but later resulted in international media coverage and condemnation.

In one of his own publications, Kamiya stated, "The powerful, who aim to create huge profits by selling vaccines and medicines, are actively calling for the wearing of masks through mass media such as newspapers and television in order to excessively inflame fear of the COVID-19 pandemic." He further explained that "the powerful" refers to international financial capital and multinational corporations. In the same book, Kamiya described these financial capital and multinational global corporations as "Jewish". When Kamiya appeared on a televised interview on August 18, 2022 after being elected to the House of Councillors, he said, "It is true that Jewish capital is involved, but I think it was wrong to write it in such a way that it could be misinterpreted as if it were all done by Jews, so I will have to correct it in the future."

Political views

Foreign policy

* Kamiya believes that Japanese sanctions on Russia should be weakened.
* Kamiya believes that the Japanese government should take a "stronger stance" on China regarding the Senkaku Islands dispute and the Taiwan issue.
* To improve Japan–South Korea relations, Kamiya believes that both sides should take mutual concessions on "conflicting issues". However, Kamiya is opposed to the construction of the proposed Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel.

Defense and security policy

* Kamiya is in favour of repealing and abolishing Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution for Japan to remilitarize and establish a standing armed forces.
* Kamiya believes that Japan's Defense spending should be increased to 2% of the gross domestic product.
* Kamiya is in favor of Japan's Self Defense Forces being permitted to pre-emptively strike enemy forces in an event of "inevitable armed conflict", which is currently prohibited in accordance to the Constitution.
* Kamiya believes that Japan should possess nuclear weapons.

Economic policy

* Kamiya is in support of Abenomics, but believes that reforms are needed for the economic policy to be a success.
* Kamiya believes that the Bank of Japan should return to tightened monetary policy.
* Kamiya is in support of lowering the consumption tax, and is opposed to progressive tax.
* Kamiya believes that nuclear power is necessary for the time being, but should slowly be phased out.

Social policy

* Kamiya is opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage.
* Kamiya is opposed to couples adopting different surnames.
* Kamiya is opposed to having a female heir in Japan's Imperial Family.
* On COVID-19 vaccination in Japan, Kamiya believes that the government has "no affairs on the lives of individuals," opposing public-funded programs to encourage vaccination to the populace.
* During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamiya asserted, "The people have the right to not wear masks." He further clarified that he adheres to health protocols, stating, "I wear masks on planes."

Personal life

In 2017, Kamiya married Fumi Kamiya, a former staff member of his office while serving as Suita City Councilor. The couple have one son and one daughter.

Publications

Authored publications

* Sohei, Kamiya (2013).''Turn on Japan's switch – The future can be changed by our own hands!''
* Sohei, Kamiya (2014). ''Ignite the Yamato Spirit – Switch on Japan 2''
* Sohei, Kamiya (2016). ''Learning from Ryoma Sakamoto "The power to make allies"''
* Sohei, Kamiya (2019). ''The "Real Japan" that I want to tell my children''
* Sohei, Kamiya (2020). ''Japanese Changemakers: 10 Years of the Ryoma Project''
* Sohei, Kamiya (2022). ''Sanseitō Q&A Book Basic Edition''

Co-authored publications

* Satoshi, Fujii (2014). ''The Philosophy of politics''
* Kurayama, Mitsuru (2016). ''Take your time and learn! Modern Japanese history''
* Yoshino, Toshiaki (2022). ''Sanseitō: The party that awakens the people''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamiya, Sohei
1977 births
Living people
Japanese far-right politicians
Japanese anti-vaccination activists
COVID-19 conspiracy theorists
Activists from Fukui Prefecture