"Representing the Rights of 961,000 Korean Residents in Japan"...Busan Native Jaeuk Jung Founds Japan’s First Naturalized Citizen-Led Party

Joining Forces with Uzbek Councilor
Japan’s First Political Party Founded by Naturalized Citizens: "Shinse Party" Established

A naturalized citizen of Korean origin has established a new political party and entered the Japanese political scene directly. It is the first time in Japan that naturalized citizens have formed a political party.

Political campaign poster. The pledges included a safe street free from illegal lodging issues and a street with festivals 365 days a year. Day Akira website

According to Yonhap News on September 14, Jaeuk Jung (Japanese name: Akira Day), president of the Tokyo Shinjuku Korean Merchants Association, held a press conference at the Tokyo Japan Press Center and announced that he founded a new political party, "Shinseito (新世黨, Shinse Party)" together with Orzugul, a Setagaya Ward Councilor of Uzbek origin.

President Jung, who hails from Busan, moved to Japan as an international student in 1985 and became a naturalized citizen. Since then, he has led Korean business owners in the Shin-Okubo district. Co-representative Councilor Orzugul is also a naturalized citizen who entered the Setagaya Ward Council in 2023.

On August 19, at the regular general meeting and the president inauguration and retirement ceremony of the Shinjuku Korean Merchants Association, a picture of former president Jaeuk Jung. Photo by Akira Day

According to Akira Day’s official website, Jung’s five main campaign pledges (▲A vibrant Shinjuku, ▲A rule-abiding Shinjuku, ▲A beautiful Shinjuku, ▲A Shinjuku connecting local residents and foreigners, ▲A Shinjuku prioritizing the lives of residents) are focused on leveraging the diversity of the area’s multinational community—composed of residents from as many as 130 countries—as a driving force of local development.

His plans include revitalizing the area by creating a pedestrian-friendly Okubo Street, strictly eradicating illegal lodging and establishing the "Shinjuku Rule" to safeguard local residents’ daily lives. He also proposes the thorough environmental clean-up needed to create a clean city and further expansion of practical exchanges between residents and foreigners, emphasizing community-based pledges that put daily life and safety first for residents.

President Jung and Councilor Orzugul are particularly aware of the growing focus on "putting citizens first" and the politicization of foreign resident issues by some factions within Japanese politics, especially amid a reality where the number of foreign nationals approaches four million. As a result, they plan to base their full-scale activities in Shinjuku Ward, where the proportion of foreign residents is high.

He explained his motivation for entering politics, stating, "True multicultural coexistence means abiding by Japanese laws and local rules together, respecting each other, and living safely, regardless of nationality and origin."

Meanwhile, according to the "2020 Status of Overseas Koreans" announced by the Overseas Koreans Office in December last year, as of 2025, the number of ethnic Koreans residing in Japan will reach approximately 961,000. This is the third-largest community of overseas Koreans globally after the United States (about 2,557,000) and China (about 1,848,000).

The Shinse Party is expected to broaden its political base in the upcoming local elections next year, focusing on Shinjuku and Setagaya. Anyone aged 18 or older, regardless of nationality, is eligible to become a party member.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.