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Makoto Sakurai

This article is about a political activist. For the drummer of Dragon Ash and Atom on Sphere, see Dragon Ash. For the fictional character, see Nichijou.

Makoto Sakurai (桜井 誠, Sakurai Makoto, born February 15, 1972) is the pen name of a political activist, blogger, and writer from Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. A former civil servant in a ward office, he is the founder and former leader of the far-right nationalist group Zaitokukai, known for its anti-foreign messages and public demonstrations which some consider unruly.[2] Following his unsuccessful campaign in the 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election, he founded the Japan First Party in August 2016 and is currently the party's leader.

Makoto Sakurai
桜井 誠
Makoto Sakurai in front of Ueno Station on July 24, 2016, during the 2016 Tokyo Gubernatorial Election
Leader of the Japan First Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
February 26, 2017
Preceded byPosition established
Personal details
Born
Makoto Takata (髙田 誠, Takata Makoto)

(1972-02-15) February 15, 1972 (age 52)[1]
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
Political partyJapan First
Residence(s)Tokyo, Japan
Known forFounder and former leader of Zaitokukai
Websiteameblo.jp/doronpa01/ (in Japanese)

Name

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Sakurai refers to himself as "Makoto Sakurai" in public and publishes under the same name. It has been speculated that his real name may be Makoto Kimura (木村 誠, Kimura Makoto), as he was introduced as such when he first appeared on television, on the show Jene Jan (ジェネジャン) in January 2005.[3][better source needed] However, on May 10, 2017, he tweeted a picture of a document pertaining to the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election with his real name "Makoto Takata (髙田 誠, Takata Makoto), along with his pen name that he is known as written on it.[4]

Activism

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Online presence

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Sakurai maintains an online presence under the username "Doronpa" and similar variations. He is currently active on his blog, Twitter, and TwitCasting accounts.

While Sakurai was a civil servant, he started gaining interest in South Korea through the Internet, and came to the conclusion that "South Korea is a rare country that one hates more the more they learn about it" (韓国という国は、知れば知るほど嫌いになる希有の国).[5] He then afterwards relied on a Japanese-Korean online bulletin board to have thorough discussions with South Korean netizens. It is through this bulletin board he was invited to discuss South Korea in the TV show mentioned above, with himself the only one against the popularity of the country in Japan.

Sakurai lives with his mother in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he co-manages a Family Mart convenience store part-time.[citation needed]

Zaitokukai

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Main article: Zaitokukai

On December 2, 2006, Sakurai founded the nationalist political group Zaitokukai, short for "Zainichi Tokken-wo Yurusanai Shimin-no Kai (在日特権を許さない市民の会, Association of Citizens against the Special Privileges of the Zainichi)" and held an inaugural meeting the next month, in response to a TV news report about a group of Japanese citizens supporting Zainichi Koreans' ability to obtain national pensions without making any premium payments. Disturbed by the news and thinking that it could potentially destroy the Japanese pension system, he searched for a political organization fighting against Zainichi rights in Japan, only to find none, which led him to establish the Zaitokukai.[6] The goals of this group is to abolish special rights towards foreigners, Koreans in particular, on the basis of nationalism, law, and the numerous criminal acts made by the perpetrators.[7]

Sakurai was arrested by Japanese police on June 16, 2013, in Tokyo after an anti-Korean demonstration by Zaitokukai members ended in a fistfight with counterprotesters.[8]

Sakurai held a public debate with Osaka mayor Tōru Hashimoto on October 20, 2014, regarding hate speech. The meeting lasted for only eight minutes, as Hashimoto ultimately left the stage along with his security detail after intense shouting and insulting from both sides.[9]

On November 11, 2014, Sakurai announced that he would step down as leader of the Zaitokukai and leave the group on the 30th of the same month.[10]

Politics

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Before contesting to become the governor of Tokyo in 2016, Sakurai had stated numerous times that he would not enter the world of politics. During an assembly conducted by the Zaitokukai on August 30, 2009, in response to a participant's question regarding whether Sakurai would advance into the political world, Sakurai answered that he "would not go as far as setting aside his current life just to advance into the world of politics", denying his intention to run for office.[11] During the debate with Osaka major Toru Hashimoto in October 2014, after receiving an explanation from Hashimoto about the responsibilities of a politician, Sakurai replied that he is not interested in becoming one. When Sakurai announced his intention to step down as leader of Zaitokukai and leave the group, he stated once again he would not be a politician.

Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2016

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Main article: 2016 Tokyo gubernatorial election

Following the resignation of Yoichi Masuzoe as the Governor of Tokyo, Sakurai announced his candidacy in June 2016. There was a total of 21 candidates, a record breaking number for this position.

Compared to the three main candidates (Yuriko Koike, Hiroya Masuda, and Shuntaro Torigoe), Sakurai received little media coverage during the campaign,[citation needed] along with seventeen other candidates, and he criticized the media in his speeches for the unequal treatment. This criticism got the approval from his rival Mac Akasaka, who was also running for Tokyo Governor. When Sakurai was featured in news coverage, however, newspapers such as The Asahi Shimbun[12] and Tokyo Shimbun[13] criticized Sakurai, claiming he took advantage of the election to deliver hate speech. Sankei Shimbun was the only large newspaper to feature Sakurai either neutrally[14] or positively, even going as far as conducting a close reporting in Sakurai's campaign office the moment of the vote counting.[15] The election placed him fifth place, with 114,171 votes or 1.74% of the popular vote.[16]

Sakurai had seven promises for the residents of Tokyo:[17]

  1. Abolish welfare for foreigners[note 1]
  2. Halve the number of illegal immigrants within Tokyo
  3. Create a law banning anti-Japanese hate speech[note 2]
  4. Legalize marijuana and send all tax revenue to the Yamaguchi-Gumi yakuza syndicate [citation needed]
  5. Enforce the regulation of Pachinko, a de facto form of gambling, which is illegal in Japan
  6. Cancel the establishment of a new Korean school in Tokyo
  7. Enforce a more compact Tokyo Olympics

He claimed that by fulfilling these promises, money and pride would go back to the hands of the Japanese to better suit the lives of the Japanese people instead of foreigners and foreign countries.[citation needed]. Sakurai's catch phrase was "Japan First" (日本第一・ジャパンファースト).[citation needed]

Aside from his promises, Sakurai criticized the Liberal Democratic Party for supporting Yoichi Masuzoe during the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election, only for him to use public money for unnecessary expenses and personal affairs leading to his resignation.[citation needed] Moreover, Sakurai criticized the Japanese people, especially those in their 20s and 30s, who do not vote. He urged everyone to take 20–30 minutes to go to the voting booth to cast their opinion so that there can be change in the politicians themselves, which Sakurai also criticized. He did not beg voters to vote for him; only to cast their votes.[18]

During the campaign, Sakurai received several death threats. The culprits were high school kids, all of whom were written up and given warnings.[19]

Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2020

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On June 4, 2020 (Reiwa Second Year), he announced his intention to run for the 2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election being held on July 5 of the same year.[20] He was running as “a candidate recommended by the Japan First Party.” The public promises that he touted in the election this time had been drastically reduced from the seven in the previous 2016 Metrop gubernatorial elect, and had become three: “Zero Tokyo inhabitant’s taxes and fixed property taxes,[note 3]” “The regulation of Pachinko,” and “The immediate shutdown of welfare for foreign citizens.”

About his election campaign after June 18, 2020 (Reiwa Second Year), he was concerned about the impact of the novel coronavirus infection, so he cancelled the conventional street speeches that bring people together outdoors, and he aimed at virtual street propaganda and interviews by web broadcasts. In exceptional cases, he had carried out protest street propaganda that travelled to the Embassy of China and other places in a way that did not give prior notice so that they did not bring people together. Prior to the Metrop gubernatorial elect, he was concerned about the spread of novel coronavirus, so he had submitted a written request for the postponement of the election to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.[21]

On June 24, 2020 (Reiwa Second Year), during a Toranomon News (Tsukasa Jōnen & Kent Gilbert appeared) studio broadcast (8:30 am), he caused a disturbance by pulling an election campaign car in front of the studio, involving the audience in it, criticizing Jōnen by name and so on.[22] About the reports that Sakurai himself, who had prepared in advance, decided on controversial statements when Toranomon News denounced Sakurai in the program on that day, Asahi Shimbun and Kanagawa Shimbun that Toranomon News had originally denounced are those which have reported them as articles in the past, and in addition, is not that which Sakurai himself said those controversial statements are not those which Sakurai himself made.[23]

On the other hand, two people, Shin’ichirō Suda and Yoshikatsu Ikuta, have shown a certain understanding for Sakurai, and have made positive statements.[24][25]

On July 6, an apology for unauthorized use to the person entitled to Sakurai’s street propaganda videos in the Toranomon News (appearances: Ippei Orishima, Tsukasa Jōnen and Kent Gilbert) broadcast on June 24 was made.[26]

As for the results of the election, he received 178,784 votes but lost in fifth place.[27][28] Sakurai said, “Indeed, I have been defeated in the election this time. I would like to hope for Ms. Yuriko Koike’s future success. However, I think that this election at this time has set one major guideline. Virtual elections, virtual street propaganda and virtual interviews. Through these kinds of things, I suspect I was able to have everybody also feel the power of the virtual and the Net even just a little. And the next election. It means that we must make the most of them in the next election.”[29] Even though the voter turnout in the election had decreased compared to 2016 last time, the percentage of votes won increased from 1.74% last time to 2.92%.[28]

2021 Japanese general election

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Makoto Sakurai was a candidate in the 2021 Japanese general election for the Japan First Party in the Tokyo 15th district. He received 9,449 votes or 3.96% which was the highest percentage of votes he received to date. The party also received 33,661 votes in the Tokyo proportional representation block.

Election results

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Tokyo Gubernatorial

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Election Candidate Result
Votes %
2016 Makoto Sakurai Lost 114,171 1.74
2020 Makoto Sakurai Lost 178,784 2.92
2024 Makoto Sakurai Lost 83,600 1.20

Publications

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All publications are in Japanese and there are no known English translations.

  • "The Anti-Korean Era (大嫌韓時代)" published by Seirindo on September 24, 2014. ISBN 978-4792605025.
  • "The Anti-Korean Diary (大嫌韓日記)" published by Seirindo on June 16, 2016. ISBN 978-4792605544.
  • "Japan First Party Declaration (日本第一党宣言)" published by Seirindo on May 20, 2017. ISBN 978-4792605902.
  • Articles written by Sakurai occasionally appear in the magazine Japanism, published by Seirindo.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Permanent residents (永住者) are allowed welfare as stated in the Welfare Law. Sakurai incorrectly claims that these laws do not allow foreigners to receive welfare.[citation needed]
  2. ^ This is in response to the then-newly passed Hate Speech Act (June 3, 2016), which regulates hate speech toward foreigners living in Japan. Sakurai would have created a law to regulate hate speech toward Japanese by foreigners and the Japanese themselves.
  3. ^ A public promise with a two-year limit in regard to the novel coronavirus infection. Moreover, he also touted that he would reduce the Governor of Tokyo’s salary to zero for only one year.

References

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  1. ^ "Makoto Sakurai". IMDb.
  2. ^ Fackler, Martin (2010-08-28). "New Dissent in Japan Is Loudly Anti-Foreign". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  3. ^ "【在特会・桜井誠】地上波「ジェネジャン」、チャンネル桜のこと＆殺人集団「中核派」に抗議！". YouTube (in Japanese).
  4. ^ Tweet made by Makoto Sakurai May 10, 2017 5:14
  5. ^ Web archive of "The Meeting with a Certain Korean I Cannot Forget" (忘れられないある韓国人との出会い) (in Japanese), archived 2008-1-4. Retrieved 2016-01-23.
  6. ^ Makoto, Sakurai (24 September 2014). 大嫌韓時代 [The Anti-Korean Era] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Seirindo. pp. 159–162. ISBN 978-4792605025.
  7. ^ Sakurai, Makoto (5 December 2006). "在日特権を許さない市民の会 公式サイトへようこそ" [Welcome to the Official Website of Zaitokukai] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  8. ^ "8 arrested as groups clash over anti-Korean demonstrations in Tokyo". 2013-06-17. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  9. ^ McCurry, Justin (2014-10-21). "Japanese 'hate speech' debate abandoned as insults fly". The Guardian. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  10. ^ Osaki, Tomohiro (2014-11-12). "Head of anti-foreigner group Zaitokukai to step down". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
  11. ^ "桜井天国言いたい放題！反日政権誕生日8.30在特会special". Nico Nico Douga. 31 August 2009. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014. 現在の生活をかなぐり捨ててまで政界に進出する気はない
  12. ^ Nishimoto, Hideshi (4 August 2016). "「選挙運動の形したヘイトスピーチ」 都知事選巡り課題" ["Hate Speech in the Form of an Election Campaign" Problems Circulating the Tokyo Gubernatorial Election]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Tokyo. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  13. ^ "在特会前会長が都知事選で１１万票余 「選挙ヘイト」不問か" [Former Zaitokukai Leader gets around 110K votes in the Gubernatorial Election. Will "Election-led Hate" be unquestioned?]. Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). Tokyo. 4 August 2016. Archived from the original on 6 October 2016. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  14. ^ "桜井誠氏が激白！「間違ったことはしていない」「来年の都議選に１０～２０人立候補させます」" (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  15. ^ "桜井誠氏「３強の候補に一矢報いることができた」「別の形で運動続ける」" [Sakurai Makoto "I was able to strike back at the 3 strong candidates" "I will continue this campaign in a different form"]. Sankei Shimbun (in Japanese). Tokyo. 31 July 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  16. ^ "2016東京都知事選[2016 Tokyo Gubernatorial Election]". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  17. ^ Sakurai, Makoto (2015-06-29). "Makoto Sakurai Announcement of Candidacy Press Interview" (Interview) (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  18. ^ Sakurai, Makoto (July 20, 2016). Makoto Sakurai's Campaign at Futakotamagawa (Speech) (in Japanese). Futako-Tamagawa, Tokyo. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  19. ^ "在特会前会長に「殺すぞ」「ばりきもいねんけど」 ツイッターに書き込んだ高校生ら５人書類送検" (in Japanese). Sankei Shimbun. 2016-10-26. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-27.
  20. ^ "桜井誠氏、都知事選に出馬表明" [Mr. Makoto Sakurai Announces Run in Metrop Gubernatorial Elect]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). 2020-06-05.
  21. ^ "総務省(高市総務大臣宛)に東京都知事選挙延期の要望書を提出" [I Submitted a Written Request for the Postponement of the Tokyo Metropolis Gubernatorial Election to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Addressed to Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi)] (in Japanese). Japan First Party. 2020-04-30. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  22. ^ 上念司氏への抗議街宣 (Protest Street Propaganda Against Mr. Tsukasa Jōnen) - 桜井誠公式チャンネル (Makoto Sakurai Official Channel), Retrieved 2020-06-25.
  23. ^ 史上初！ 桜井誠 VR（ヴァーチャル）対談 (The First in History! Makoto Sakurai VR (Virtual) Interview) – ふわっち「桜井誠」アカウント (WhoWatch “Makoto Sakurai” Account), Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  24. ^ 東京都知事候補 [桜井誠] 須田慎一郎氏（ニューソク通信社）からの取材 (Governor of Tokyo Candidates [Makoto Sakurai] Interview by Mr. Shin’ichirō Suda (NewSoku News Agency) ) - 桜井誠チャンネル【日本第一党 公式】 (Makoto Sakurai Channel [Japan First Party Official]), Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  25. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQfMa54OCak (Private video), Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "6月24日水曜の虎ノ門ニュースについて" [About the Toranomin News on Wednesday, June 24] (in Japanese). DHC Television. 2020-07-08. Archived from the original on 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  27. ^ "東京都知事選2020" [Tokyo Metropolis Gubernatorial Elect 2020]. Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese). July 2020.
  28. ^ a b The Asahi Shimbun. "開票速報｜2020都知事選（東京都知事選挙）：朝日新聞デジタル" [Flash Report of Votes Counted; 2020 Metrop Gubernatorial Elect (Tokyo Metropolis Gubernatorial Election): Asahi Shimbun Digital]. Asahi Shimbun Digital (in Japanese). Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  29. ^ "小野泰輔氏「悔いはございません」桜井誠氏「大きな指針を示した」 立花孝志氏は..." [Mr. Taisuke Ono “I have no regrets,” Mr. Makoto Sakurai “It has set a major guideline,” Mr. Takashi Tachibana…]. J-CAST News (in Japanese). 2020-07-05.
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