TOKYO: False claims that Japan’s new prime minister has created a ministry for “mass deportations” have been widely spread online, as immigration misinformation swirls after a “Japanese first” party did well in elections earlier this year.
The misleading statements circulating on X and Facebook — largely in English — say Sanae Takaichi, Japan’s first woman premier who was sworn in this week, asked Kimi Onoda to lead the ministry.
Onoda was on Tuesday tapped for a number of roles, chiefly economic security minister and minister in charge of a “society of well-ordered and harmonious coexistence with foreign nationals.”
A department with the same name was created under Takaichi’s predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, although the appointment of a cabinet minister to supervise it is new.
At a press conference Wednesday, Onoda said that Japan “will strictly handle foreign nationals who do not follow the rules,” but there was no mention of mass deportations.
“The inappropriate use of various systems by some foreign residents, their crimes and misbehavior are causing anxiety and a sense of unfairness among Japanese people,” she said.
Immigration levels in Japan remain low compared to other rich economies, but with an aging population, one of the world’s lowest birth rates and worker shortages in many industries, the number of immigrants is increasing.
The rising numbers of foreigners, including tourists, was a major issue in the race for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party leadership earlier this month, which Takaichi won before being elected prime minister.
Takaichi accused foreigners of kicking deer in her hometown Nara.
One of the widely circulated posts on X said that Takaichi was “sworn in and IMMEDIATELY created a ministry for mass deportations” received more than nine million views.
Another video spread on Facebook falsely claimed that Japan’s emperor had approved “the nationwide deportation plan.”
The false claims were also circulating in Thai, German and Spanish.
They come after a Japanese cultural and social exchange program with four African nations was canceled last month, after it triggered floods of emails and phone calls from people falsely believing that it was a new immigration policy.
Also last month Kitakyushu city was reportedly inundated with complaints after inaccurate claims that it planned Muslim-friendly school lunches.
In July, the anti-immigration Sanseito party did well in upper house elections, growing its seat tally to 15 from two. In the lower chamber it has three MPs.
Its agenda echoes other populist movements around the world, railing against “elitism” and “globalism,” and saying it will “bring power back to the people.”