Sanae Takaichi’s clear election victory marks a significant shift in Japanese politics. The new prime minister advocates a firmer stance on security and foreign policy, a sharper line towards China and closer strategic ties with the United States. More important than Takaichi herself, however, is the message sent by the vote.
Japan is widely seen as politically stable, institutionally cautious and averse to open confrontation. Policy rarely changes abruptly and almost never as the result of emotional protest. When such a country deliberately moves to the right, the shift is less a matter of ideology than of calculated judgment. The new priorities are order, deterrence, state capacity and the defense of national interests. The election result is therefore not an isolated event, but a contemporary example of a broader trend visible across the world.
A look beyond Japan’s borders shows that the global shift to the right is not merely the product of individual politicians or parties. It reflects a change in political substance.
Right-Wing Politics Beyond the Right
This dynamic is particularly visible in countries where left-wing or social democratic governments hold office but pursue policies that are conservative in substance. Denmark offers the clearest example. For several years, the Social Democrats have implemented one of Europe’s strictest migration regimes.
One central element is the state-defined “ghetto” policy. Residential areas are classified as problematic on the basis of measurable criteria: a high proportion of non-Western migrants, low employment, elevated crime levels and limited educational attainment. Once an area falls into that category, the state intervenes extensively. Children are required to attend compulsory language and civic programs from pre-school age. Harsher penalties apply to certain offences. Immigration into designated districts is restricted, and housing estates are redeveloped or demolished to promote social mixing.
At the same time, social benefits for newly arrived migrants have been curtailed. The policy also includes explicit deterrence messaging abroad. Asylum is not intended to serve as an attractive route for immigration. This approach was not imposed by right-wing parties. It was deliberately advanced by the Social Democrats themselves. It reflects a practical understanding of politics: problems are handled through policy rather than displaced into moral rhetoric.
An International Pattern
Austria is undergoing a similar development, albeit more openly. The rightward shift is now a parliamentary reality. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) is the strongest force in the National Council. This is not a short-term fluctuation, but the result of a sustained realignment of priorities. Migration, domestic security, rising prices, energy costs and national sovereignty have dominated political debate for years.
It is notable that many of these positions have since been adopted by other parties. Stricter asylum legislation, limits on social benefits for foreign nationals, and a stronger emphasis on deportations and border protection have entered the political mainstream. The FPÖ has benefited from addressing these issues early, consistently and with clear messaging. Austria is therefore not an outlier, but a reference point for political change in Western Europe.
Germany, by contrast, appears to be in a transitional phase. The shift to the right is clearly visible in society, yet it is reflected in policy only to a limited extent. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) leads in several nationwide polls, in some cases by a considerable margin over the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD). At the same time, however, there have been no fundamental structural changes. Migration, domestic security, economic stagnation and industrial weakness dominate the debate, but rarely translate into coherent political action. Compared with Denmark or Austria, Germany appears to be at an impasse.
The United Kingdom represents a different variant of the same trend. The decisive turning point was not the rise of a right-wing party, but Brexit. National sovereignty was politically legitimized again without a traditional right-wing force holding office. The fact that many expectations have remained unfulfilled helps explain the rise of Reform UK. The British case shows that a rightward shift can be formally completed and still continue to gather momentum if its promises are seen to have fallen short.
France offers an example of a sustained shift to the right. Marine Le Pen acts less as a revolutionary figure than as a constant pressure point. Regardless of who holds office, French politics has moved rightwards in key policy areas. Security legislation, states of emergency, tighter asylum rules and a stronger emphasis on national identity have also been advanced by governments that did not come from the right-wing camp.
The United States, Eastern Europe and Latin America
The United States occupies a distinctive position. During Donald Trump’s presidency, political conflicts began to be articulated more openly. Issues that had previously been obscured by moral rhetoric moved to the center of debate. Migration, cultural fragmentation, the economic decline of large sections of the population and a growing loss of trust in institutions became defining political themes. Regardless of how individual measures are assessed, the broader political framework has shifted in a lasting way. National interests are once again treated as legitimate, and state authority is regarded as a core responsibility of government.
Eastern Europe presents a different picture. In countries such as Hungary and Poland, this trajectory has not been fundamentally interrupted. Border protection, national sovereignty and scepticism towards supranational intervention have long formed part of the political mainstream. The rightward shift appears less dramatic because it represents continuity rather than correction. While Western Europe is now adjusting its course, several Eastern European states had already sought to pre-empt developments they regarded as destabilizing.
A comparable pattern can be observed in Latin America. In Chile, a candidate campaigning on security, order and the enforcement of state authority prevailed after years of political instability and rising crime. In Argentina, President Javier Milei embodies a distinct libertarian variant of the rightward shift. There, the correction is directed not towards a stronger state but towards its radical curtailment, as existing institutions are perceived as dysfunctional. The instruments differ, but the underlying impulse is similar.
Spain as an Exception That Proves Little
Spain represents the most significant counterexample and is therefore analytically instructive. While many countries are tightening migration policy or seeking to discourage arrivals, the government in Madrid has chosen a different course. The Socialist administration has approved a comprehensive plan to regularize the residence status of about 500,000 illegal migrants.
According to Migration Minister Elma Saiz Delgado, the measure is intended to improve integration and stimulate economic growth. The new rules are due to enter into force between April and June this year. They apply to migrants who have been living in the country for at least five months and who submit an application for international protection by the end of 2025. A clean criminal record is a prerequisite for obtaining residence status. The government argues that many of those affected are already embedded in society but work in the informal economy. Regularization is intended to address that situation while supporting the labor market, particularly in agriculture, construction and tourism.
The policy has, however, drawn sharp criticism. The opposition Partido Popular and Vox warn of perverse incentives and potential consequences for the Schengen area. Conservative voices at European level are calling for an assessment of the impact on secondary migration flows. At the same time, the government has secured support from civic initiatives and the Catholic Church.
The figures illustrate the scale of the issue. According to the Funcas think tank, the number of migrants without legal residence has increased sevenfold since 2017. More than seven million foreign nationals currently live in Spain. Migration is therefore among the country’s most sensitive political questions. Spain does not contradict the broader rightward shift. Rather, it shows that political responses depend on economic structure, labor market conditions and migration history.
The Common Denominator
Japan, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Eastern Europe, Chile and Argentina illustrate different expressions of the same development. The global rightward shift is not primarily a movement of parties, but of policies. Societies are responding to rising living costs, migration as a permanent condition, overstretched state structures, security concerns and growing distrust of political elites.
Where left-wing parties address these issues pragmatically, they retain political viability or adjust their course accordingly. Where they block, moralize or defer decisions, they lose support. The right does not benefit simply by virtue of its label, but because it acts decisively or generates pressure that compels adaptation.
The Japanese election is emblematic of this development. Not because Japan is exceptional, but because political priorities are changing there as well. The global rightward shift does not follow individuals or parties. It follows lived experience and the question of whether politics can function effectively again.