In a reflection on the current intensification of geopolitical conflicts, the Daiwa Political populism is on the rise globally, driven by factors including social inequality, economic insecurity and immigration. This trend is also evident in the UK and Japan, as reflected in recent elections and the current political landscape in both countries.

In this webinar, Associate Professor Naoko Hashimoto will discuss the politicisation of immigration in Japan, based on the experience of the July 2025 House of Councillors election, which featured a ‘Japanese First’ campaign launched by a few minor and relatively new political parties, as well as some apparently deliberate use of misinformation. Professor Jane Green will address the realignment of the British electorate and the fragmentation of the right, exploring how Reform may overtake Labour in numerous constituencies and examining the underlying social factors.

About The Contributors

Dr Naoko Hashimoto is an Associate Professor, Department of Politics and International Studies, International Christian University. Prior to joining academia, Naoko worked for UNHCR, IOM and the Government of Japan as a practitioner for nearly 15 years. She holds a Master of Studies in Forced Migration, Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford (as a Sir John Swire scholar), LLM in International Human Rights Law from University of London (International Programme convened by Queen Mary and UCL), and PhD in Politics from University of Sussex (as an International Fellow of Nippon Foundation). She is also affiliated with Refugee Law Initiative, University of London and serves as a Refugee Adjudication Counsellor appointed by the Japanese Minister of Justice.

Professor Jane Green is a Professor at Nuffield College, Co-Director of the British Election Study and Director of the Nuffield Politics Research Centre, a research centre focusing on accountability, representation, British elections and political science communication beyond academia. She is also an Elections Analyst for ITV News’s twice-BAFTA-nominated live election results programmes, a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and winner of the 2015 Political Studies Association ‘Research Communicator of the Year’. Her research interests include analyses of political, attitudinal and election study data; political accountability, economics and voting; and political attitudes, gender and political representation. Her recent publications include Miori, M. and Green, J. (2025) “The Most Disproportionate UK Election: How the Labour Party Doubled its Seat Share with a 1.6‐Point Increase in Vote Share in 2024”, The Political Quarterly, 96(1), pp. 37–64, and Grant, Z., Green, J. and Evans, G. (2025) “Family Matters: How Concerns about the Financial Wellbeing of Young Relatives Shape the Political Preferences of Older Adults”, British Journal of Political Science, 55, p. e63.

Booking Essential | Admission Free