Sohei Kamiya

The native form of this personal name is Kamiya Sohei. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Sohei Kamiya
神谷 宗幣
Kamiya in 2025
Secretary General of Sanseitō
Incumbent
Assumed office
17 March 2020
Preceded byPosition established
Member of the House of Councillors
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 July 2022
ConstituencyNational PR
Member of the Suita City Council
In office
27 May 2007 – 26 December 2012
Personal details
Born (1977-10-12) 12 October 1977 (age 47)
Takahama, Fukui, Japan
Political partySanseitō (since 2020)
Other political
affiliations		Suita Shinsengai (2007–2012)
Liberal Democratic (2012–2015)
Independent (2015–2020)
Spouse
Fumi Kamiya
​
(m. 2017)​
Children2
EducationKansai University (BLitt, JD)
OccupationPolitician
Websitehttps://www.kamiyasohei.jp/
Military service
Branch/serviceGround Self-Defense Force
Years of service2012–2022
RankSergeant (3等陸曹, Santō rikusō)
UnitReserves
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Sohei Kamiya (神谷 宗幣, Kamiya Sōhei; born 12 October 1977) is a Japanese politician who is the founder and Secretary General of the far-right political party Sanseitō. Kamiya has been serving as a member of the House of Councillors since 2022 through the Proportional Representation Block.

A conspiracy theorist who promotes COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine propaganda,[1] Kamiya gained international media attention while campaigning for the 2022 House of Councillors election due to his antisemitic rhetoric during public appearances and campaign rallies.[2] His party has been described as a controversial politician and a cult by his political opponents.[3]

Early life

Kamiya was born in Takahama, Fukui in 1977. He graduated from Fukui Prefectural Wakasa High School, majoring in science and mathematics. He then entered Kansai University's Faculty of Letters, Department of History and Geography (now called the Department of General Humanities). He moved to Suita, Osaka after graduating from the same university in 2001. He became a teacher at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School. In 2002, he became an employee of Kamiya Store, a company run by his parents, and served as a store manager. In 2003, he made a short return as a teacher at Fukui Prefectural Wakasa Higashi High School. In 2004, he enrolled in Kansai University Law School's Legal Professional Training Course, completing his studies in 2007 and obtaining a Juris Doctor degree.[4]

Political career

Early years

In the 2007 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Suita City Council and was elected. He was inaugurated as a councilor on May 27, 2007.[5] Kamiya founded the regional political party Suita Shinsengai in the same year. In 2010, he became a representative of the Kansai State Politicians Federation. In June of the same year, he established the Ryoma Project National Association and assumed the position of chairman. In 2011, Kamiya was re-elected as a member of the Suita City Council. He was then elected as the Vice Chairman of the City Council.[5]

In November 2012, Kamiya joined the Liberal Democratic Party and became the head of the party's Osaka 13th district (Higashiosaka) branch,[6] replacing House of Representatives member Akira Nishino. Kamiya then resigned from his seat in the Suita City Council to run for the 2012 Japanese general election,[7] with then-LDP President and former prime minister Shinzo Abe personally campaigning on behalf of Kamiya,[8] but lost to Koichi Nishino from the Japan Restoration Party.

In 2013, Kamiya founded a YouTube channel named "ChGrandStrategy", promoting far-right politics, historical revisionism, and conspiracy theories.[4] As of June 2023, the channel has 338,000 subscribers and over 3,000 videos.

In the 2015 Japanese local elections, Kamiya ran for the Osaka Prefectural Assembly as an Independent candidate for Suita's electoral district, but was defeated, placing 6th out of 6 candidates.[4]

Sanseitō era

Kamiya in 2022

In 2019, Kamiya launched an online political organization "Political party DIY" (政党DIY, Seitō DIY). A year later in March 2020, he formed the political party "Sanseitō" alongside Manabu Matsuda, Yuya Watase, and Tsuneichiro Shinohara, and assumed the position of Secretary General.

On 10 July 2022, Kamiya filed his candidacy for the 2022 House of Councillors election for the Proportional Representation Block and was elected.[9][10] He was inaugurated on 26 July 2022.

On 30 January 2023, five senior members of Sanseitō, including Kamiya, were sued by the NHK Party on the grounds of fraud.[11] At a speech held in Shimonoseki on January 31, 2023, Kamiya criticized the NHK Party, claiming that "The NHK Party has executives who have ties to radical leftist groups and anti-Japan forces." In response, the NHK Party filed another lawsuit on 2 February 2023, claiming 100 million yen in damages against the Sanseitō and Kamiya.[11]

2025 Japanese House of Councillors election

On 30 June 2025, Sanseitō announced that a councillor who formerly belonged to the Japan Innovation Party, a right-wing populist party, had joined Sanseitō. The move means Sanseitō has five parliamentary seats, fulfilling the requirements of the Japan National Press Club to be invited to participate in televised debates.[12]

In a debate held on 13 July, Kamiya put forth "Japanese First" as their primary policy. Kamiya was then criticized by representative from the Social Democratic Party for policies that would "only lead to xenophobia".[13][14] The party had a breakthrough in the election, winning 14 seats.

Controversies

Antisemitism

While campaigning for Sanseitō in the 2022 Japanese House of Councillors election, Kamiya told the crowd that "Sanseitō would not sell out Japan to Jewish capital," a remark that was greeted with applause at the time but later resulted in international media coverage and condemnation.[15]

In one of his own publications, Kamiya stated, "The powerful, who aim to create huge profits by selling vaccines and medicines, are actively calling for the wearing of masks through mass media such as newspapers and television in order to excessively inflame fear of the COVID-19 pandemic." He further explained that "the powerful" refers to international financial capital and multinational corporations. In the same book, Kamiya described these financial capital and multinational global corporations as "Jewish". When Kamiya appeared on a televised interview on August 18, 2022 after being elected to the House of Councillors, he said, "It is true that Jewish capital is involved, but I think it was wrong to write it in such a way that it could be misinterpreted as if it were all done by Jews, so I will have to correct it in the future."[16]

Power harassment and bullying accusations

In 2023, Kamiya was accused of power harassment against his former official secretary who later took her own life in December 2023. This followed complaints by the secretary to Sanseitō members and friends about power harassment by Kamiya. The former secretary was the mother of a college girl who became an activist of a project related to Sanseito and also wanted to support the party. However, after experiencing harassment, the secretary resigned and later committed suicide. After her death, the daughter gave a statement, saying she would never support Kamiya. Kamiya did not show any sympathy for the victim.[17][18]

Historical revisionism

In May 2025, Kamiya was accused of attempting to rewrite history after he falsely claimed that during the Battle of Okinawa, local Okinawans were only killed by U.S. soldiers and not the Imperial Japanese Army.[19]

The claim caused uproar in Okinawa, as a lot of Okinawan civilians were killed by the Japanese military during the Pacific War. The military had a policy that any local people, who seemed suspect or a spy, should be killed. Professor Masaie Ishiharta from Okinawa International University, who specializes in Okinawa history, issued a rebuttal to Kamiya's claim, citing historical facts and also asking politicians not to distort history.[20]

After the incident, the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly passed a resolution protesting Kamiya’s remark stating that it twisted and denied the real facts of the battle in Okinawa. However, Kamiya remained defiant and said that his claims are "not fundamentally wrong".[19]

He refers to the Pacific War as the "Greater East Asia War",[21] and takes the position that it was "not a war of aggression."[22] He also denies the existence of comfort women and the Nanjing Massacre. He regards the postwar view of history as a "masochistic views of history" that was brainwashed by the policies of SCAP GHQ.[23][24]

Gender equality and LGBT issues

Kamiya has called gender equality policies a mistake, saying that they would support women into work which would mean they would be prevented from having more children.[25][26]

In his opening remarks at the 2025 House of Councillors announcement ceremony, he made statements in relation to measures to combat the declining birthrate, such as, "We've been making mistakes up until now, with things like gender equality. It's good for women to advance in society, but only young women can have children," "I'm sorry, but older women can't have children," and "Women who give birth and raise children should be given a monthly payment of ¥100,000 per child. This is better than working part-time or in an office."[27][28]

He is opposed to the LGBT Awareness Promotion Act.[29] In a street speech in 2023, he said, "Diversity, political correctness, and gender equality are communism." and "If we do exactly what the Communist Party says, Japan will be ruined.[30] In July 2023, Sankei Shimbun said, "Before we can show understanding towards LGBT, we need to increase understanding towards giving birth and raising goddamn children." "That's why we all need to say it together. We don't need LGBT, and there's no need to increase understanding."[31]

Political views

Foreign policy

Defense and security policy

Economic policy

Social policy

  • Kamiya is opposed to the legalization of same-sex marriage.[32][33]
  • Kamiya is opposed to couples adopting different surnames.[32][33]
  • Kamiya is opposed to having a female heir in the Imperial House of Japan.[32][33]
  • On COVID-19 vaccination in Japan, Kamiya believes that the government has no business interfering with “the lives of individuals," opposing public-funded programs to encourage vaccination.[38]
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kamiya asserted, "The people have the right to not wear masks."[39] He further clarified that he adheres to health protocols, stating, "I wear masks on planes."[40]
  • Kamiya believes that young women are too focused on their career and this is not good for the Japanese population. [41]

Personal life

In 2017, Kamiya married Fumi Kamiya, a former staff member of his office while serving as Suita City Councilor. The couple have one son and one daughter.[42] In a public speech, Kamiya said his party is "fine with people having a mistress".[43] He lists Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler among his favorite books.[44]。

Publications

Authored publications

  • Sohei, Kamiya (2013).Turn on Japan's switch – The future can be changed by our own hands![45]
  • Sohei, Kamiya (2014). Ignite the Yamato Spirit – Switch on Japan 2[46]
  • Sohei, Kamiya (2016). Learning from Ryoma Sakamoto "The power to make allies"[47]
  • Sohei, Kamiya (2019). The "Real Japan" that I want to tell my children[48]
  • Sohei, Kamiya (2020). Japanese Changemakers: 10 Years of the Ryoma Project ISBN 978-4-792-60729-6
  • Sohei, Kamiya (2022). Sanseitō Q&A Book Basic Edition ISBN 978-4-792-60720-3[49]

Co-authored publications

  • Satoshi, Fujii (2014). The Philosophy of politics[50]
  • Kurayama, Mitsuru (2016). Take your time and learn! Modern Japanese history ISBN 978-4-908-18226-6
  • Yoshino, Toshiaki (2022). Sanseitō: The party that awakens the people ISBN 978-4-792-60720-3

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