Right-wing movements around the world scapegoat immigrants as the cause of social ills, and Japan is no exception; last year, the national parliament solidified its conservative coalition around an ascendant far-right faction, while anti-foreigner content is doing numbers on social media.
Unfortunately for these politicians and adherents, reality isn’t on their side. A new report from the Japanese police, analyzed by a major newspaper here, adds yet another study to the global pile of evidence that immigrants are far from being dangerous. They are, in fact, less criminal than ever.
Japan’s immigrant criminality data shows a clear trend
In late February, Tokyo Shimbun conducted an analysis of police records from 2021-2025, drawing data from 14 different prefectures across Japan. In that 5-year period, a total of 56,706 foreigners were charged in police incidents. This metric peaked during the 2001 to 2005 period at a total of 93,899 charges.
Over the past 20 years, then, the raw number of criminal incidents involving foreigners has dropped by approximately 40 percent. Over the same period, the total foreign population in Japan nearly doubled, from 2.01 million to 3.95 million. This means that the current crime rate among foreigners is a quarter of its 20-year peak.
This survey aligns with other such surveys from around the world, all of which point to the same basic fact: foreigners avoid criming. Rationally, this makes sense, given that travelers, visa-holders, and immigrants all have much more to lose and much weaker protections within modern justice systems. Japan, especially, is known for its dubious due process for foreign nationals, highlighted in 2019 by Carlos Ghosn’s high-profile arrest and escape.
In spite of reason and data, anti-foreigner sentiment continues to rise around the world and in Japan. So much so that Japan’s Ministry of Justice commissioned an investigation of online anti-foreigner sentiment at the end of last year. And while it may be glib to blame something as timeless as xenophobia on the internet, social media plays a crucial role in magnifying hatred.
Anti-foreigner sentiment inflamed by social media
In November of last year, multiple social media posts led to unrest in Fukuoka. One case was an innocuous post about school lunch reform.
The Kitakyushu school board announced “Happy lunchtime” (にこにこ給食) an initiative to update their school lunch menu to accommodate food allergies, and as a part of that, the menu was coincidentally Halal. In celebration of the new initiative, one city resident posted, “it seems that the new school lunches accommodate food allergies and Muslim restrictions.”
The post was picked up by right-wing accounts and amplified with a focus on xenophobic fears about Muslims invading the country. This misinformation spread rapidly.
In November, the school board was flooded with complaints, leading to an awkward town hall where they explained the real nature of their reforms. It was especially awkward given that the reforms and post in question were from 8 months prior. “Happy lunchtime” happened in January.
"Noah [at Unseen Japan] put together an itinerary that didn’t lock us in and we could travel at our own pace. In Tokyo, he guided us personally on a walking tour. Overall, he made our Japan trip an experience not to forget." - Kate and Simon S., Australia
This kind of deceptive time lag is a common feature of these incidents. Another such case concerned an apartment complex under development by a conglomerate whose owner is Chinese. Purportedly, in a presentation about the development, the owner stated that “residence applicants are 40% Chinese, 40% Hongkongese/Taiwanese, and 20% Japanese/Korean.” This presentation happened in May of 2024.
Afterwards, construction stalled for over a year, but in November 2025, posts about the building took off on social media. The prefectural government was flooded with calls to cancel the construction, in response to which they clarified that they aren’t the ones who approve construction permits – cities do. The construction company also clarified on its website that the apartment was open to anyone, and applicants’ nationalities were just a coincidence.
These are far from the only social media-related xenophobia outbreaks in recent memory. However, they highlight common right-wing digital tactics: scour social media for content that can fit into a xenophobic narrative, build up online outrage, then channel that into direct action to pressure authorities.
It doesn’t matter if the narrative is current or even real. The police record survey shows these narratives are fundamentally false. What matters is whether the content can be spun to invoke hatred.
Japan’s place in the global right
While some specific aspects of this outrage machine are unique to Japan, the broad strategy is far from unique. Around the world, social media has been leveraged to foment hatred and drive a global right-wing movement that continues to heighten international tensions. With the rapid development of generative AI as a tool of misinformation, digital media’s tether to reality is even looser than it already was.
For Japan, these dynamics show no sign of stopping. The foreign population is growing at the same time the Japanese population is shrinking. Meanwhile, the Japanese economy is struggling in the wake of COVID-19 and the Bank of Japan’s policy response. People are struggling in a squashed economy.
Increasingly visible foreigners are an ideal scapegoat. They have weak legal protections and little cultural backing. Best of all for propagandists, their numbers are small, so it’s hard to get caught lying about them.
It would be one thing if this were all just posting. However, Japan’s institutions are following along.
The rightward shift of the LDP and the rise of Sanseito means supporters of the current government are aligned with xenophobic misinformation. Kamiya Shohei, the leader of Sanseito, claimed with no evidence that, “Foreigners who can’t find a job turn to stealing, and it’s causing a big problem.”
"Noah [at Unseen Japan] put together an itinerary that didn’t lock us in and we could travel at our own pace. In Tokyo, he guided us personally on a walking tour. Overall, he made our Japan trip an experience not to forget." - Kate and Simon S., Australia
His statement directly contradicts police records, as Tokyo Shimbun showed. Reactionary misinformation is not an online-only phenomenon; it’s happening in the seats of power.
The state of fake news makes the international landscape look bleak. Believers in diversity can take heart that reality is on their side. Immigrant communities are safe, and immigration doesn’t make the crime rate rise.
As long as right-wingers stick to xenophobic narratives, they will be peddling disinformation. While lies may work fast, eventually reality comes to take its due.
Or at least we can hope.
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Sources
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半年前の投稿が突如「炎上」、排外的なデマがみるみるうちに拡散…対応に苦慮する自治体. 讀賣新聞
外国人ヘイト、ＳＮＳ投稿で初調査 来年度、対策強化へ被害把握―法務省. Jiji Press
分断・排除の参政党. Japanese Communist Party
