Taro Yamamoto, a member of the House of Councillors for Tokyo, founded the party on 1 April 2019. This was with the intent of standing multiple candidates, including himself, in the upcoming House of Councillors election later in the year.[10] On 10 April, Yamamoto held a press conference and announced the party's platform.[12]
Notable party members include university professor Ayumi Yasutomi and former deputy representative of the North Korean abduction liaison Toru Hasuike.
2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election
Yamamoto was one of the 22 candidates participating in the 2020 Tokyo gubernatorial election, coming in third place with 10.72% of the votes. The party promises included a direct cash handout programme due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[15]
2021 Japanese general election
Yamamoto joined with the leaders of the Constitutional Democratic Party, Japanese Communist Party, and Social Democratic Party in running a joint opposition coalition based on common policy goals.[16] Yamamoto, who had been formerly running in Tokyo's 8th district, withdrew to run in the Tokyo PR block to avoid vote splitting against the CDP's Harumi Yoshida. The withdrawal came following pushback from local residents, who were hesitant to vote for Yamamoto, a "parachute candidate," over Yoshida, who had been active within the community for many years prior.[17] The party further withdrew 7 candidates as part of the joint platform to avoid vote splitting between the opposition parties, accounting for 40% of Reiwa Shinsengumi's planned slate of candidates.[18][19]
Yamamoto announced his resignation from the House of Representatives seat to which he was elected in 2021 general election, and contested in Tokyo metropolitan constituency for the House of Councillors.[22] Reiwa gained three seats in the election: Yamamoto winning a seat in Tokyo, along with two other candidates who took up seats in the nationwide proportional representation block.[23][24]
Ideology and policies
Reiwa Shinsengumi has been described as progressive,[6][7]left-wing populist,[8][9] and sits on the left of the left–right political spectrum.[1] Some scholars classify the party's views as radical left-wing.[25] Eder-Ramsauer and Matsutani describe Reiwa Shinsengumi as an eclectic left-wing populist party that blends emancipatory radical democratic politics with an openness to communitarian ideas whilst opposing neoliberalism.[26] On the other hand, Axel Klein, who takes an ideational approach, writes that the party does not meet the criteria that define (left) populism.[27]
In a press conference held shortly after the founding of the party in 2019, Yamamoto announced that his party would push for the abolition of the consumption tax and instead, make the corporation tax a progressive tax and increase government bonds.[36] In addition, he said that the party is against the construction of the Henoko base. In 2019, the party also said it would: ban nuclear power entirely, raise the minimum wage to ¥1,500 per hour with public guarantee, implement laws protecting free education, disability rights, LGBT rights, animal rights, institute a basic income of ¥30,000 (circa $283 as of September 2020) per person per month whenever inflation is below 2% (benefits would end whenever inflation is not below the threshold and resume if it goes below again), and reinforce social services.[37]
^色もいろいろ東京都知事選 候補者が「イメージカラー」に込めた思いは [In the Tokyo gubernatorial election, candidates express their intentions through their chosen "image colors"]. Tokyo Shimbun (in Japanese). 26 June 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2020. "ピンクをイメージカラーにするのは、れいわ新選組代表の山本太郎さん... 2019年の結党以来、党のロゴにも使い続ける。" [Reiwa Shinsengumi's leader, Taro Yamamoto, chooses pink as their signature color... they have been using it consistently in the party's logo since its founding in 2019.]
^【野党ウオッチ】異色の戦法「れいわ新選組」際立つパフォーマンス. The Sankei News (in Japanese). 20 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2020. 会場の広場にはれいわ新選組のシンボルカラーであるピンクの幟（のぼり）が林立し、...
^"れいわ新選組のチラシ" (in Japanese). れいわ新選組. 26 August 2020. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
^山本太郎・参院議員が新党『れいわ新選組』を結党 消費税廃止を公約に [House of Councillors member Taro Yamamoto founds a new party called "Reiwa Shinsengumi" with a pledge to abolish the consumption tax] (in Japanese). 12 April 2019. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^「山本太郎氏に鼻をつまんで投票しない」 東京8区で街頭抗議 [Protesters in Tokyo 8th district vow not to vote for Taro Yamamoto]. Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 10 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
^れいわ、立民除籍の高井氏を擁立 衆院選滋賀３区 [Reiwa [Shinsengumi] nominates Takai, who was expelled from the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), as their candidate for the Shiga 3rd district in the House of Representatives election]. Kyoto Shimbun (in Japanese). 5 October 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
^Mizushima, Jiro (18 July 2022). "ポピュリズムが支持される理由" [Why populism is gaining support]. Mainichi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved 18 July 2022. ... れいわ新選組のような急進左派的な主張を掲げる新しい政党が支持を集めてきており... [... On the other hand, new political parties with radical left views, such as Reiwa Shinsengumi, are gaining support...]
^Blondy, Théophile (21 July 2019). "Le Reiwa Shinsengumi un parti " populiste "". Le Petit Journal (in French). Retrieved 26 July 2019. Le programme appelle directement et sur presque tous les sujets à un interventionnisme plus marqué de l'Etat;
^Helen Hardacre; Timothy S. George; Keigo Komamura; Franziska Seraphim, eds. (2021). Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 136. ISBN9781793609052. ... Sometimes regarded as a "liberal-populist" party, a new political party, Reiwa Shinsengumi, arose in a "riot" of people who believed they have been marginalized by Japanese capitalism and democracy.26 The party's charismatic leader, ...
^"El PLD del asesinado Shinzo Abe logra una holgada victoria en los comicios en Japón" [Murdered Shinzo Abe's LDP Achieves a Hollow Victory in Commissions in Japan]. El HuffPost (in Spanish). 11 July 2022. El Partido Comunista de Japón ha logrado en estos comicios 4 escaños, que junto a los que ya tenía en la otra mitad suman 11; y el liberal Reiwa Shinsengumi (liberal), 3 asientos, hasta sumar 5, según los resultados divulgados. El resto de escaños se han repartido entre partidos minoritarios y candidatos independientes. [The Communist Party of Japan has won 4 seats in these elections, which together with those it already had in the other half add up to 11; and the liberal Reiwa Shinsengumi (liberal), 3 seats, up to a total of 5, according to the published results. The rest of the seats have been distributed between minority parties and independent candidates.]
^Helen Hardacre; Timothy S. George; Keigo Komamura; Franziska Seraphim, eds. (2021). Japanese Constitutional Revisionism and Civic Activism. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 86. ISBN9781793609052. Reiwa Shinsengumi—a new party formed after the 2019 House of Councillors' election, single-handedly carrying the hopes of left-wing liberals—and the Communist Party jointly demanded "protection of Article 9 as is" (kyūjō goken).
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