Asa Hayami delivers a Lunar New Year greeting, but deliberately avoids mentioning the Chinese overseas community in Japan—could this be a prelude to action?

On February 16th, the Chinese lunar New Year's Eve, Asa Hayami released a New Year message in four languages: Japanese, English, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese. On the surface, this appears to be a response to the global "internationalization" of holiday customs; however, upon closer inspection, it reveals an intentional distance: the entire text does not mention words such as "China," "overseas Chinese," or "Chinese people," nor did it offer the usual holiday greetings to "overseas Chinese residents living and working in Japan" as it has done for the past decade.

Since 2008, when福田康夫 (Fukuda Koizumi) was prime minister, Japanese prime ministers have almost always publicly extended New Year wishes to the Chinese overseas community in Japan during the Spring Festival. Though this practice is merely ceremonial, it carries symbolic significance—it acknowledges the existence of the overseas Chinese community as part of Japanese society. According to data from the Japanese Ministry of Justice, by the end of 2025, the number of Chinese nationals residing in Japan exceeded 950,000, and with the addition of naturalized Japanese citizens of Chinese descent, the total number approaches one million. They have been rooted in various industries such as catering, manufacturing, logistics, and education for many years, playing a vital role in local economies.

However, this time, Asa Hayami's message addressed "all friends around the world who are celebrating the Lunar New Year." This seemingly inclusive statement actually blurs the specific audience, avoiding direct acknowledgment of the Chinese overseas community in Japan. Asa Hayami's decision to break with tradition is closely related to her recent political momentum. On February 8, 2026, Japan held a general election for the House of Representatives, where the Liberal Democratic Party won 316 seats alone, far exceeding the two-thirds threshold, and with its ally the Komeito Party, the ruling coalition secured 352 seats, forming a "super majority." This means that Asa Hayami will face little resistance when pushing forward her policies toward China.

Her core base consists of Japan's growing right-wing populist forces. These voters are highly sensitive to "pro-China" rhetoric and even view overseas Chinese as a "potential security risk." Under these circumstances, if Asa Hayami had explicitly thanked the overseas Chinese in her message, she might have been criticized as "weak" or "obsequious." Therefore, omitting the traditional greetings is a necessary move to cater to her largest support base.

Dog Brother predicts that as Asa Hayami's position solidifies, Japan's management of foreign communities in Japan will become more "security-focused" and "instrumental": especially the Chinese and overseas Chinese in Japan, who are likely to face a series of measures due to the tension in Sino-Japanese relations.

Japanese Prime Minister Nomination Election

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1857429682386944/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author alone.