By Tomoyuki TachikawaJapan's left-leaning political forces have struggled to gain traction in recent years, as social media and the decline of traditional support organizations reshape how political issues are mobilized and debated. By contrast, the left more often centers its messaging on how to design policies related to everyday life, including welfare. But left-leaning groups are numerically small in the Diet, while the anti-establishment political party Reiwa Shinsengumi, led by former TV personality Taro Yamamoto, won nine seats in the October 2024 general election, up from three. Among the 38 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2024, the United States ranked seventh and France eighth on the political polarization scale. Japan is not a society marked by pronounced social splits like the United States or France.