Foreign Minister proposes voting rights for permanent residents

nahadef · 25 Nov 2020

I don't expect it to happen, but yeah, for the amount of taxes I pay year after year, I'd love to be able to vote.

茂木外相「２１世紀の日本を『多様性のある多民族社会」』に」「定住外国人に地方参政権を与える」

e-デモクラシー～若手政治家の気概を問う～「茂木としみつの回答」

sn-jp.com

Lothor · 25 Nov 2020

No, I don't expect it to happen either. Especially considering that the LDP were extremely vocal in protest when Hatoyama, the short-lived Democratic Party PM in 2009, tentatively suggested that foreigners with a PR should be allowed to vote in local elections. Nice to hear of a Japanese politician standing up for us lowly gaijin though.

thomas · 26 Nov 2020

I imagine that most foreign residents holding PR would never in their lives vote for the LDP, so this will never happen. However, I agree with @Lothor that it's very encouraging to see that some politicians think out of the box.

Lomaster · 26 Nov 2020

thomas said:
I imagine that most foreign residents holding PR would never in their lives vote for the LDP

Interesting. What makes you think so, Thomas? LDP seems like the lesser of evils on the current political stage. At least they are bold enough to take unpopular yet farsighted decisions (think about unavoidable consumption tax raise or restarting nuclear plants despite the protests) Whenever i hear other parties agenda - they just sound overtly populistic to me.

thomas · 26 Nov 2020

@Lomaster, you are right, perhaps I was projecting my opinion onto others. However, when I look at the LDP, I see the following (off the top of my head):

a party that's been in power for over six decades (apart from a short DP interlude) with fossilised structures and officials
a blatant lack of vision (increasing the consumption tax is not exactly bold but a necessity and restarting the nukes is not only unpopular but madness)
corruption and cronyism on the highest level (Moritomo Gakuen, Kake Gakuen, Kurokawa gambling scandal, casino bribery case, KEPCO scandal, Kawai vote-rigging, Abe sakura party, etc.)
hawkish and nationalist agenda (attempted revision of Art. 9 of the Constitution, State Secret Law, etc.)
countless derogatory statements of LDP officials against foreign residents, the LGBT community, childless couples, single-educating mothers, etc. (I don't have the time now to look up every case) and so on...

Sadly, I cannot see any significant change in policy and political style under the new PM, who is clearly lacking in the communication department (see the science council debate). However, there is hope in some of the younger members of the cabinet (Motegi, Kono).

Just my 2 yen worth.

nahadef · 26 Nov 2020

I like the consumption tax, I think it's important for infrastructure, but the conservative hawk attitude of those old boys is always going to be a turn off

kaspersky · 26 Nov 2020

I don't expect it to happen, but yeah, for the amount of taxes I pay year after year, I'd love to be able to vote.

Ah...americans and the good old slogan No taxation without representation always gives me the feeling that US citizens in Japan are acting like colonists and see Japan as a new colony. A lot of citizens coming from countries where foreign permanent residents are NOT allowed to vote often want to vote in Japan. Green card holders can't vote, right? Even if they earn a lot as actors for example.

How many times did I heard about Americans of Brits wanting to vote here and knowing perfectly well that Japanese who lived in the US or UK for decades are not allowed to vote there. With the exception of South Korea which country among those that have lot of their citizens in Japan are allowing foreign residents to vote:
- China: Nooooooo... (letting Chinese vote in Japan sounds like a joke)
- Philippines: No
- North Korea: No
- Thailand: No
- Indonesia: No
- Malaysia: No
- Taiwan: No
- Brazil: No (Only Portuguese citizens are allowed to vote)
- USA: Nooooooooooooooooo
- Australia: No
- UK: No
- France: No

If voting rights is based on reciprocity, most of you are S.O.L and I can hardly imagine Japanese letting Chinese citizens meddling in Japanese elections.

thomas · 26 Nov 2020

@kaspersky, I'm not sure what triggered your blast, but it was the Japanese FM who suggested voting rights for permanent residents, not nahadef (who isn't even American) or resident "colonists" with delusions of entitlement.

I support the right to vote in local elections and would be glad to see it implemented for permanent residents in my home country, too.

We had the same discussion before:

Koike party not granting foreigners right to vote

The right to vote in local elections, that is. Not that I’d ever seriously expected such right to be granted, but categorically denying it out of “national interest” (read below) wiped out the last sympathies I’d harboured for her...

jref.com

nahadef · 26 Nov 2020

Thomas has that covered, but yeah, that was a totally ridiculous thing to write.

mdchachi · 27 Nov 2020

if I'm not mistaken I'm the first American to comment on this thread.

Lothor · 27 Nov 2020

kaspersky said:
Ah...americans and the good old slogan No taxation without representation always gives me the feeling that US citizens in Japan are acting like colonists and see Japan as a new colony. A lot of citizens coming from countries where foreign permanent residents are NOT allowed to vote often want to vote in Japan. Green card holders can't vote, right? Even if they earn a lot as actors for example.

How many times did I heard about Americans of Brits wanting to vote here and knowing perfectly well that Japanese who lived in the US or UK for decades are not allowed to vote there. With the exception of South Korea which country among those that have lot of their citizens in Japan are allowing foreign residents to vote:
- China: Nooooooo... (letting Chinese vote in Japan sounds like a joke)
- Philippines: No
- North Korea: No
- Thailand: No
- Indonesia: No
- Malaysia: No
- Taiwan: No
- Brazil: No (Only Portuguese citizens are allowed to vote)
- USA: Nooooooooooooooooo
- Australia: No
- UK: No
- France: No

If voting rights is based on reciprocity, most of you are S.O.L and I can hardly imagine Japanese letting Chinese citizens meddling in Japanese elections.

Shinzo Abe also believed in no taxation without representation. Or said he does.

Abe Invokes U.S. Revolution in Tax Delay, Snap Election

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe invoked the American Revolution in calling a snap election and shelving a further increase in a tax that sank Japan into recession.

www.bloomberg.com

thomas · 23 Feb 2023

A recent Kyodo survey showed that only 16% of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue.

Note that this is only about the need to debate the issue further ...

And about local referendums, not municipal elections...

Individuals without Japanese citizenship are not permitted to vote in elections, but local governments have the power to introduce ordinances allowing them a say in referendums. But responses from the survey on forms of local participation for foreign residents showed that 56 per cent of assembly leaders polled feel that they "could not say either way," and another 24 per cent stated they "do not think it should be pursued further." Amid sustained falls in the native population and rising foreign resident numbers, the central government has revised its policies for a multicultural society to include measures to actively encourage community participation by foreign residents. However, while Japan had a record 2.96 million foreign residents according to Justice Ministry figures for the end of June 2022, their number still only accounts for about 2 per cent of the total population. Assembly chiefs who expressed reservations offered reasons including that many foreign nationals living in Japan are technical intern trainees or holders of other residence categories which means they are likely to stay for a limited period before ultimately returning home.

Just 16% of Japan assembly heads open to foreigner referendum voting

Just 16 percent of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue.

english.kyodonews.net

nice gaijin · 25 Feb 2023

thomas said:
A recent Kyodo survey showed that only 16% of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue.

Note that this is only about the need to debate the issue further ...

And about local referendums, not municipal elections...

Just 16% of Japan assembly heads open to foreigner referendum voting

Just 16 percent of prefectural and municipal assembly leaders in Japan believe there should be further debate on whether to grant foreign residents the vote in local referendums, results of a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday, with many citing a need for care in approaching the issue.

english.kyodonews.net

"Could we vote to stop talking about this? All this thinking about foreign residents is making me uncomfortable."

Nothing controls democracy quite like controlling who gets a say

Foreign Minister proposes voting rights for permanent residents

nahadef

Quietly exploding

茂木外相「２１世紀の日本を『多様性のある多民族社会」』に」「定住外国人に地方参政権を与える」

Lothor

Freelance proofreader

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Lomaster

.

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

nahadef

Quietly exploding

kaspersky

後輩

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Koike party not granting foreigners right to vote

nahadef

Quietly exploding

mdchachi

Moderator

Lothor

Freelance proofreader

Abe Invokes U.S. Revolution in Tax Delay, Snap Election

thomas

Unswerving cyclist

Just 16% of Japan assembly heads open to foreigner referendum voting

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Just 16% of Japan assembly heads open to foreigner referendum voting

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