INTERVIEW: Japan populist parties fueling unfounded fears: European scholar

TOKYO - Acting as "political entrepreneurs," rising right-wing Japanese populist parties in recent years have been fueling fears about issues that do not match the country's reality, according to an observation by a European expert in comparative politics.

Daniele Caramani, a professor at the University of Zurich, said it remains unclear whether such parties' gains in popularity and political ground will prove durable. But he said their views may be drawing attention amid generational change in Japan, with diminishing sensitivities over the country's past militarism.