What's new

Komeito leader welcomes Ozawa's proposal to give foreigners voting rights

thatsme

先輩
11 Feb 2007
104
5
28
Something postive eh!!
or not?
You are welcome to be skeptical

Kazuo Kitagawa, secretary-general of ruling coalition partner Komeito, has voiced support for opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) leader Ichiro Ozawa's suggestion of considering submitting a bill to give foreigners with permanent residence status the right to vote in local elections.

"I would like a bill to be compiled and submitted," Kitagawa said of the proposed move, adding that there had been arguments against it within the DPJ. "If they compiled it I would welcome that," he said.

In a news conference on Tuesday, Ozawa said, "I've stressed before that the right for foreigners to vote in local elections should be granted. I've been criticized by long-time supporters, but the bottom line doesn't change."

There has been a strong tendency within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to take a cautious approach over granting foreigners with permanent residence status the right to vote in local elections. In 2005 Komeito submitted its own bill to the Diet, and the bill remains under deliberation.

Some LDP members have expressed concern over Ozawa's comments, calling them a move to break up the ruling coalition.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080124p2a00m0na011000c.html
 
I think the only positive point their is that it may encourage more Japanese to vote and ultimately something may change, after all, It's the local population that never seems to stop complaining when something goes wrong.
 
I would love to be able to vote, but it's not looking likely anymore, at least not in the near future. There's an update on the Yomiuri website:

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...11TDY03102.htm
The split in the Democratic Party of Japan over a planned bill to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections has further deepened, with groups of advocates and skeptics holding separate meetings on the issue.
DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama has tried to bring the two sides of the conflict closer together, but with the issue tied to speculation over September's party presidential election, it will be difficult to successfully resolve the problem.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Back
Top Bottom