Policies on Foreigners Divide LDP Presidential Candidates at Public Debate

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:38 JST, September 24, 2025

At a public debate for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election, the five candidates clashed over policies toward foreigners in Japan.

Such policies were a point of contention in July’s House of Councillors election, with demands growing for stricter measures against foreigners who do not abide by rules, as well as for restrictions on land and property acquisition.

The debate was held Tuesday at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo, sponsored by the Youth Division and Women’s Affairs Division, where the five candidates answered questions from LDP regional assembly members.

Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, stated his opinion on how Japan should accept foreigners: “It is not about accepting them because of a [labor] shortage. We need a vision for the kind of society we want to build in the medium to long term, and we should create a system that relies on foreigners as little as possible.”

Toshimitsu Motegi, a former LDP secretary general, stated, “We should aim for zero illegal foreigners, and take strict measures against foreigners who fail to abide by the rules.”

Meanwhile, both former economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, and Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, called for strengthening the government’s role as a control tower.

“We will send back those who feign refugee status for economic reasons. We will also set rules for the acquisition of land and buildings,” Takaichi said.

Koizumi showed his intention to address the issue under the direct authority of the prime minister, stating that an action plan to assess the current situation and review relevant rules would be drafted by year’s end.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, emphasized, “In the medium to long term, it is important to have [foreigners] come in gradually over time and as much as necessary.”

Regarding constitutional reform, a core policy of the LDP, Takaichi positioned stipulating the existence of the Self-Defense Forces as her highest priority among the LDP’s four-point constitutional amendment proposal compiled in 2018.

Kobayashi and Koizumi also said they would prioritize explicitly stating the existence of the SDF. In addition, Kobayashi said he would prioritize the creation of an emergency clause while Koizumi said he would prioritize dissolving the merged constituencies of the upper house.

Hayashi mentioned a constitutional amendment that would align the number of seats in the upper house by prefecture regardless of population.

Motegi said he wants to bring opposition parties into the discussion and create a situation in which the public can make a judgment as soon as possible on the constitutional amendments.