The Illusion and Reality of "Japanese First": The Defense Mechanism Called "Coexistence" Facing Japan in 2026

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 13:43:41 +0900

The Illusion and Reality of “Japanese First”: The Defense Mechanism Called “Coexistence” Facing Japan in 2026

Introduction: Why Does This Phrase Resonate Now?

We now stand at an unprecedented turning point of an era. Prolonged inflation, sluggish real wage growth, and visibly advancing declining birthrates and aging population. Every time the price tags of products on supermarket shelves are rewritten, anxiety about the future casts a shadow over our hearts.

In the midst of this sense of stagnation, a phrase is rapidly gaining support. It is “Japanese First” (Nihonjin First).

The desire to “first enrich the lives of our own citizens” and “protect Japanese culture and public safety as a top priority” is an extremely natural and compelling urge as a sovereign individual, and as a human being living in this country. However, between the “ideal” championed by this phrase and the “reality” shown by statistical data, there exists a large gap that we must face squarely.

In this article, putting aside emotional arguments and labeling, we will close in on the true nature of this issue based on objective data, historical transitions, and facts occurring in various parts of society.

This phrase did not suddenly appear. It has been cultivated through a complex interplay of global trends and circumstances unique to Japan.

1. 2016-2017: Import and Establishment of the Phrase

In 2016, Donald Trump’s “America First” sent shockwaves around the world. Domestically in 2017, the “Tomin First no Kai” (Tokyoites First) led by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike attracted attention. At this point, it was largely a rhetorical device to clarify policy priorities, and exclusionary nuances were still limited.

2. 2023-2024: Visualization of Anxiety

The delayed economic recovery after the pandemic and inflation accompanying the rapid depreciation of the yen hit ordinary households directly. Around the same time, dissatisfaction based on fragmented information, such as “Support for foreigners is too generous” and “Japanese taxpayers’ money is flowing to foreigners,” began to erupt on social media.

In the 2025 national elections, forces officially using “Japanese First” as a slogan secured a certain number of seats. Social media algorithms, reacting to people’s anxieties, preferentially displayed extreme posts, accelerating the “echo chamber phenomenon” where only specific values are reinforced.

The latest public opinion poll conducted by various newspaper companies (late 2025) highlighted the reality that public opinion is split right down the middle regarding this slogan: 42% “Agree / somewhat agree” and 38% “Disagree / somewhat disagree”.

One of the pillars of the logic supporting “Japanese First” is the image that “Japanese resources are being usurped by foreigners.” However, primary data from government agencies shows a reality exactly opposite to this intuition.

1. Labor Force: The “Indispensable Blood” Maintaining the Japanese Economy

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Foreigner Employment Situation (as of the end of October 2024)”, the number of foreign workers was **2,048,675 . Current estimates in 2026 show it has already surpassed ** 2.3 million.

Industrial Sector	Ratio/Increase Rate of Foreign Workers	Reality and Role
Construction	Approx. 22.7% increase YoY	Indispensable for infrastructure maintenance and repair of aging bridges and roads.
Medical/Welfare	Approx. 28.1% increase YoY	Serving on the front lines of caregiving, supporting elderly Japanese.
Manufacturing	Accounts for approx. 26% of the total	The backbone supporting the front lines of Japan’s export industry.

Currently, they are filling the “void that Japanese can no longer secure,” rather than jobs that Japanese people want to do but cannot. If we exclude them in the name of “Japanese First,” our caregiving system would immediately collapse, and housing and food prices would jump further from several tens of percent to multiple times.

The most widely spread narrative on social media is that “foreigners are receiving public assistance preferentially.” However, looking at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s statistics, the proportion of households with foreign heads among all recipient households is about 2.8-2.9%. Over the past 10-plus years, this figure has remained almost flat.

Conversely, looking at the age composition of foreign residents, the majority are in the working generations in their 20s to 40s. They pay welfare pensions and health insurance premiums, playing the role of “providers” who support the pensions and medical expenses received by “elderly Japanese.” It is none other than them who are prolonging the life of Japan’s social security system by filling the void in the working generation left after the Japanese have departed.

Anxiety about public safety most strongly stimulates the emotions of “Japanese First.” However, a detailed reading of the National Police Agency’s statistics and the Ministry of Justice’s “White Paper on Crime” reveals how much the image of the “vicious foreigner” on the internet is created by cognitive distortion.

1. A Calm Comparison of “Total Numbers” and “Crime Rates”

According to statistics published in 2024, foreigners account for about 5.5% of all arrested persons. The remaining roughly 95% are crimes committed by Japanese.

Comparing the number of arrested persons per 100,000 population (crime rate) reveals the essence even further.

Category	Arrested Persons per 100,000 Population (Estimate)
Japanese (All Ages)	Approx. 142.7 people
Foreign Residents (Settled/Residents)	Approx. 120.0 people

It is a statistical fact that the crime rate of foreigners residing in Japan in the medium to long term is lower than the overall average for Japanese.

2. The Magic of Bias Due to “Generation”

Why does the image that “foreigners are scary” take precedence? The biggest factor is the difference in “age composition” in criminology.

Japanese: About 30% are elderly people with extremely low crime rates. Because this demographic pushes down the “denominator,” the overall figure for Japan appears low.
Foreigners: Because they come to Japan as a labor force, over 80% are in the “young to middle-aged group,” where crimes are statistically more likely to occur.

If we compare the crime rates of Japanese and foreigners under the same condition of “those in their 20s,” no significant difference is seen between the two. In other words, it is not that “public safety has deteriorated because the number of foreigners has increased,” but merely that “the age group prone to committing crimes (the youth) exists in Japan in the form of foreigners.”

Social media algorithms use our “anxiety” as fuel. When one foreign crime occurs, it is intensely spread in association with the “attribute (nationality).” Then, only the memory that “a foreigner caused an incident again” is reinforced in our brains.

This is called “confirmation bias.” Crimes by Japanese, which account for 95% of the total, are overlooked as “everyday life,” and the 5% of foreign crimes are swapped for the image of “all foreigners.”

Chapter 4: Inheritance of Culture — “Destroyers” or “Saviors”?

The concern that “Japanese traditions and culture will be destroyed” also differs from the reality on the ground.

1. The “Last Inheritors” of Traditional Crafts

The number of workers manufacturing Japanese traditional crafts has plummeted from about 300,000 in the 1970s to about 50,000 today. Those saving this crisis of extinction are foreigners who came to Japan with deep respect for Japanese culture.

Sake Breweries and Sword Smiths: Foreigners have become apprentices in workshops where Japanese people have almost given up on inheritance. By incorporating an ability to broadcast overseas and new sensibilities, they are revitalizing cultures on the verge of closure into “sustainable industries.”

2. Maintenance of Local Communities

In local municipalities that have become “cities at risk of disappearance” due to the disappearance of young people, technical interns and specified skilled foreign workers have become the bearers of local festivals and support the foundation of agriculture. Who is tilling the abandoned farmland left behind by departing Japanese and protecting events that have continued for hundreds of years? If we look at that reality, we understand that they are not the “destroyers” of culture, but the “last line of defense.”

Chapter 5: Concerns in the Educational Field and the Chain of “Bullying”

The side effects of bringing the phrase “Japanese First” into the educational field are serious.

The Binary Opposition Dividing “Inside and Outside”: If children internalize the mistaken elitism that “Japanese are a privileged class that should be prioritized,” it easily leads to bullying that excludes “those who are different from us.”
Ranking by Roots: Children who have Japanese nationality but look different or have different names are attacked as “not Japanese.” This is the collapse of education and an act of harming the very human resources who will carry the future of Japan.

Experts in the field of education fear the risk that the exclusivity carried by the word “First” will diminish children’s ability for multicultural coexistence, resulting in Japan isolating itself from the world.

Chapter 6: Global Trends and the Wave of Populism

This phenomenon is not unique to Japan. Even in Western countries, a phenomenon continues where demographics who could not receive the benefits of globalization drift towards populism championing “My Country First.”

However, where Japan differs decisively from the West is that “its population is decreasing at the fastest speed in the world.” While other countries may have the option of “restriction,” in Japan there already exist countless social infrastructures that cannot be maintained without “cooperation.” Continuing to adhere to an emotional “First” means a logical “slow suicide.”

In Conclusion: What is True “Japanese First”?

The desire embedded in the phrase “Japanese First” — the desire to “put the lives of the citizens first” — is in itself the most basic responsibility that a country’s government should have.

However, the means to fulfill that desire must not be the “exclusion of our neighbors.” Because, as objective data shows, the convenience of life, public safety, traditional culture, and the social security system itself that we currently enjoy are already in a phase of “dependence and coexistence” that cannot be established without the presence of foreigners.

Is not the true “Japanese First” to calmly put the following three points into practice?

Discussions Based on Facts: Do not be swayed by rumors or exaggerated information, but grasp reality based on primary statistics from government agencies.
Establishment of Fair Rules: Require foreigners to comply with Japanese rules, while Japanese society treats them as fair partners.
Internal Update: Do not view the acceptance of foreigners as “losing Japan,” but a paradigm shift recognizing that it is to “rebuild and maintain Japan” with their help.

In 2026, we stand at a major crossroads. Will we continue to shout words of division and strangle ourselves? Or will we face reality and take a step towards a “sustainable Japan” where diverse people support each other?

The answer lies within the “intelligence” and “courage” in the heart of each individual.

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