Japan’s newest right-wing political party, Sanseitō, is no stranger to controversy. A viral video featuring party head Kamiya Sōhei suggested that high school girls skip university, get married early, and have three children.
Now, another Sanseitō rep has stirred controversy with her comments. Wada Keiko claimed that identifying as transgender could “spread contagiously,” likening it to a disease.
Remarks in the assembly
On September 12, Wada stood for her first round of questioning as a newly elected Naha City Assembly member. She portrayed transgender identity as a psychological issue rather than a matter of rights, insisting that students should not receive accommodations based on gender identity. Instead, she said they should be introduced to psychologists who could “heal their emotional wounds.”
Speaking later to reporters, Wada firmly defended her position, claiming, “Emotions spread, too. It’s not just illnesses. I didn’t say anything discriminatory.”
Originally from Osaka, Wada Keiko secured her seat in July 2025 with 9,232 votes, the highest ever recorded in a Naha City Assembly election. Despite not being Okinawan, she has lived in Naha for more than twenty years, raising four children and serving in the PTA and neighborhood associations. Her campaign emphasized education, morality, and protecting children, and she delivered nearly one hundred street speeches in just one week, capitalizing on Sanseitō’s national momentum.
Sanseitō positions itself as a conservative, “anti-establishment” party that emphasizes restoring traditional Japanese values and resisting Western liberal influence. Its members frequently challenge LGBTQ inclusion, framing diversity initiatives as harmful to social cohesion and family stability.
The party resisted Japan’s LGBT Understanding Promotion Law, which passed in 2023, arguing that it would encourage children to “choose” alternative identities. Party leaders regularly campaign on strengthening nuclear families, boosting birthrates, and reintroducing prewar-style moral education, including favorable references to the Imperial Rescript on Education.
Sanseitō has also drawn scrutiny for spreading vaccine misinformation, flirting with conspiracy theories, and borrowing rhetoric from far-right movements abroad. The party’s rallies and campaigns often echo tactics seen in MAGA-aligned politics in the United States. These controversies have made Sanseitō one of the most closely watched small parties in Japan.
Citizen response and protests
Wada’s remarks immediately sparked backlash. Citizens gathered outside city hall carrying placards that read “Respect diversity and make classrooms safe for everyone” and “Stop questions that endanger children.”
Local LGBTQ advocacy group Pink Dot Okinawa condemned her words as unscientific and discriminatory, demanding both retraction and an official apology. Editorials in local newspapers echoed these demands, calling her remarks “clearly discriminatory” and stressing that comparing gender identity to disease is unacceptable.
Medical experts also quickly rejected Wada’s framing. Nakatsuka Mikiya, chair of the Japanese GI Society and professor at Okayama University, stated, “Gender identity does not spread. Gender dysphoria is not a disease.”
Human rights advocates also warned that framing transgender identity as contagious undermines psychological safety for LGBTQ youth. Such rhetoric risks legitimizing bullying, deepening stigma, and contributing to social isolation.
Japanese activists have worked for years to secure protections for sexual minorities, but progress has been slow and uneven. The largest gains have been at the local level, where partnership systems enable same-sex couples to register their union. Two years ago, these systems covered 70% of Japan’s population; they now cover over 90%.
In 2023, the Diet passed Japan’s first LGBT Understanding Promotion Law, but activists criticized it as toothless. The law contained no binding nondiscrimination clauses and included language stressing “no unfair discrimination,” which campaigners feared could be misused to justify exclusions. Pride organizers and legal scholars described it as a symbolic gesture, not real protection.
Against this backdrop, Wada’s remarks represent not just a local controversy but part of a national struggle over how Japan treats LGBTQ people.
Broader issues raised
The controversy raises urgent questions about political responsibility, public discourse, and municipal policy. The words of elected officials carry significant weight, especially when applied to education. There are also privacy concerns. Demands to disclose the number of transgender students in local schools risk forced outing without consent, further endangering vulnerable youth.
Further, Wada’s remarks contradict Naha’s existing diversity commitments, creating tension between city policy and her stance as a popular Assembly member. Since 2015, Naha has promoted “Rainbow Naha,” pledging to make classrooms and public spaces safe for sexual minorities. That declaration aligned Okinawa with global human rights movements and gave the city symbolic leadership within Japan.
Wada’s overwhelming victory, however, shows a parallel current in the local electorate. Many residents were drawn to her emphasis on family, morality, and education, themes that resonate deeply in Okinawa’s communities. This support suggests that despite official diversity policies, conservative messaging can still mobilize large numbers of voters.
The contradiction highlights a growing divide between municipal commitments to inclusion and the appeal of parties like Sanseitō. For LGBTQ advocates, this clash raises concerns that official pledges may not be enough when powerful elected representatives openly undermine them.
What happens next
Advocacy groups and concerned citizens continue to demand an official apology and retraction. Whether Wada will issue such a statement remains unclear, and the Assembly’s potential response is still under scrutiny. What is clear is that Sanseitō’s rise has shifted Japan’s political conversation.
The party’s framing of LGBTQ rights, gender roles, and education has already influenced debates beyond its small representation in government. Wada’s victory in Naha showed that Sanseitō’s message resonates even in Okinawa, a region with its own cultural identity and history of resistance to mainland conservatism. That success worries activists who fear the party will normalize rhetoric once considered too extreme for mainstream politics.
For LGBTQ advocates, the stakes extend well beyond Okinawa. They see in Wada’s remarks a preview of how Sanseitō might reshape local assemblies across Japan. International observers, meanwhile, are increasingly alert to the party’s rapid growth and its alignment with global far-right movements.
This controversy, then, is not just about one city assembly member. It is a warning about how quickly discriminatory rhetoric can gain legitimacy, and how Japan’s fragile protections for sexual minorities remain vulnerable to erosion.
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参政・和田さん、那覇市議選で歴代最多9232票獲得 「日本の伝統文化、壊されている」危機感で出馬 沖縄. Ryukyu Shinpo.
＜社説＞和田市議の差別発言 「伝染」撤回と謝罪求める. Ryukyu Shinpo.
性自認は伝染しない」専門家が医学的見解 「性別不合は病気ではない」 和田・那覇市議の差別発言巡り. Okinawa Times.
