Billionaire Elon Musk on Monday voiced his support for an anti-immigration demonstration in Japan, a country with a low number of foreign-born residents.
Musk, who himself is a South African-born immigrant to the US, has become a leading anti-immigration voice in the world, supporting the plank essentially wherever he sees it.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO has backed far-right parties in many countries, such as Alternative for Germany (AfD).
On Monday, he commented on a video of the modest rally in Japan posted on X by an account called The British Patriot, writing: “Good”.
According to the X account that posted the video, it showed Japanese protesters “demanding the deportation of all illegal immigrants”.
“From Australia to Europe to Japan, citizens are uniting for remigration,” the account, which describes itself as a “Proud white British man with indigenous roots”, said.
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While the authenticity of the video could not be immediately verified, news agency AFP reported that it appears to have been shot in the port city of Osaka on August 30 and shows people holding Japanese flags and banners opposing mass immigration, including one that says: “Don’t make Japan Africa.”
Japan: A country with low immigration levels
Immigration levels in Japan remain low compared to other rich economies around the world, and surveys have put it far down the list of voters’ concerns.
However, due to many factors, like an ageing population, one of the world’s lowest birth rates, and worker shortages in many industries, the number of immigrants is increasing.
A controversy was sparked last week after authorities announced a new initiative under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which describes its goal as creating a “peaceful and prosperous world where people can hope for a better future and explore their diverse potentials”.
At the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, JICA announced the rollout of an “African Hometown Initiative,” which declared four “hometowns” in Japanese cities for Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Mozambique.
However, amid fears that the hometowns were being set up to accommodate future African immigrants, JICA and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the programme aims to tackle challenges in Africa while supporting local communities in Japan.
The anti-immigration Sanseito party did well in July’s upper house elections. The party’s seat tally in the chamber grew from two to 15. It has three members in Japan’s lower house.
The Sanseito party agenda resembles other populist movements around the world that have gained Elon Musk’s support. It rails against “elitism” and “globalism” and promises to “bring power back to the people.”
