Makoto Sakurai (activist)

Name

Sakurai refers to himself as "Makoto Sakurai" in public and publishes under the same name. Whilst his real name is not publicly known, it has been speculated that his real name may be "Makoto Kimura" (木村誠), as he was introduced as such when he first appeared on television, on the show Jene Jan (ジェネジャン) in January 2005.

Online presence

Sakurai maintains an online presence under the username "Doronpa" and similar variations. He is currently active on his blog, Twitter, and TwitCasting accounts.

While Sakurai was a civil servant, he started gaining interest in South Korea through the Internet, and came to the conclusion that "South Korea is a rare country that one hates as they learn more and more about it" (韓国という国は、知れば知るほど嫌いになる希有の国). He then afterwards relied on a Japanese-Korean online bulletin board to have thorough discussions with South Korean netizens. It is through this bulletin board he was invited to discuss South Korea in the TV show mentioned above, with himself the only one against the popularity of the country in Japan.

Zaitokukai

On December 2, 2006, Sakurai founded the nationalist political group Zaitokukai, short for "Zainichi Tokken-wo Yurusanai Shimin-no Kai (在日特権を許さない市民の会^?, Association of Citizens against the Special Privileges of the Zainichi)" and held an inaugural meeting the next month, in response to a TV news report about a group of Japanese citizens supporting Zainichi Koreans' ability to obtain national pensions without making any premium payments. Disturbed by the news and thinking that it could potentially destroy the Japanese pension system, he searched for a political organization fighting against Zainichi rights in Japan, only to find none, which led him to establish the Zaitokukai. The goals of this group is to abolish special rights towards foreigners, Koreans in particular, on the basis of nationalism, law, and the numerous criminal acts made by the perpetrators.

Sakurai was arrested by Japanese police on June 16, 2013, in Tokyo after an anti-Korean demonstration by Zaitokukai members ended in a fistfight with counterprotesters.

Sakurai held a public debate with Osaka mayor Toru Hashimoto on October 20, 2014 regarding hate speech. The meeting lasted for only eight minutes, as Hashimoto ultimately left the stage along with his security detail after intense shouting and insulting from both sides.

On November 11, 2014, Sakurai announced that he will step down as leader of the Zaitokukai and leave the group on the 30th of the same month.

Politics

Before contesting to become the governor of Tokyo in 2016, Sakurai had stated numerous times that he would not enter the world of politics. During an assembly conducted by the Zaitokukai on August 30, 2009, in response to a participant's question regarding whether Sakurai would advance into the political world, Sakurai answered that he "would not go as far as setting aside his current life just to advance into the world of politics", denying his intention to run for office. During the debate with Osaka major Toru Hashimoto in October 2014, after receiving an explanation from Hashimoto about the responsibilities of a politician, Sakurai replied that he is not interested in becoming one. When Sakurai announced his intention to step down as leader of Zaitokukai and leave the group, he stated once again he would not be a politician.

Tokyo gubernatorial election, 2016

Following the resignation of Yoichi Masuzoe as the Governor of Tokyo, Sakurai announced his candidacy in June 2016. There was a total of 21 candidates, a record breaking number ever for this position.

Compared to the three main candidates (Yuriko Koike, Hiroya Masuda, and Shuntaro Torigoe), Sakurai received little media coverage during the campaign, along with seventeen other candidates, and he criticized the media in his speeches for the unequal treatment. This criticism got the approval from his rival Mac Akasaka, who was also running for Tokyo Governor. When Sakurai was featured in news coverage, however, newspapers such as Asahi Shimbun and Tokyo Shimbun criticized Sakurai, claiming he took advantage of the election to deliver hate speech. Sankei Shimbun was the only large newspaper to feature Sakurai either neutrally or positively, even going as far as conducting a close reporting in Sakurai's campaign office the moment of the vote counting. The election placed him fifth place, with 114,171 votes or 1.74% of the popular vote.

Sakurai had seven promises for the residents of Tokyo:

1. Abolish welfare for foreigners
2. Halve the number of illegal immigrants within Tokyo
3. Create a law banning anti-Japanese hate speech
4. Reinforce taxation on Mindan and Chongryon
5. Enforce the regulation of Pachinko, a de facto form of gambling, which is illegal in Japan
6. Cancel the establishment of a new Korean school in Tokyo
7. Enforce a more compact Tokyo Olympics

He claimed that by fulfilling these promises, money and pride would go back to the hands of the Japanese to better suit the lives of the Japanese people instead of foreigners and foreign countries. This is similar to the views of 45th President of the United States of America Donald Trump and his America First policies. Sakurai's catch phrase was "Japan First" (日本第一・ジャパンファースト).

Aside from his promises, Sakurai criticized the Liberal Democratic Party for supporting Yoichi Masuzoe during the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial election, only for him to use public money for unnecessary expenses and personal affairs leading to his resignation. Moreover, Sakurai criticized the Japanese people, especially those in their 20's and 30's, who do not vote. He urged everyone to take 20–30 minutes to go to the voting booth to cast their opinion so that there can be change in the politicians themselves, which Sakurai also criticized. He did not beg voters to vote for him; only to cast their votes.

During the campaign, Sakurai received several death threats. The culprits were high school kids, all whom were written up and given warnings.

Japan First Party

On August 15, 2016, Sakurai announced in front of a crowd at the annual gathering to protest the Hantenren in front of Yasukuni Shrine that he would not stop at the Tokyo election, and would create a new political party to prioritize and benefit the people of Japan over foreign powers. After first jokingly announcing the new party name as "Tokyo Terrorist Party" (東京テロリス党), he formally announced on August 29, 2016 the party name "Japan First Party" (日本第一党).

As of February 27, 2017, there are about 1600 party members, but no members of the party in any government office, and only one who plans to run for the upcoming Tokyo Prefecture Legislature Election (ja) in July 2017. The JFP held its first convention in APA Hotel on February 26, 2017, and Sakurai, who was until then de facto leader, formally became leader of the JFP.

Many of the promises from his campaign in the Tokyo gubernatorial election have been included in the policies outlined by the JFP such as the exclusion of foreigners from receiving welfare. The policies include the rewriting of the Japanese constitution from scratch to put the Emperor as the head of state, install a military, and make defense of the country a civic duty.

Publications

In popular media

A character named Masato Sakuragi resembling Sakurai is featured in the second volume of fighting comedy manga "Taekwondoer Park".