BY RIGHTS, giving long-term South Korean residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections should be uncontroversial. They pay taxes, speak Japanese, and come from families that have lived in Japan for decades. Most were dragged here to work under the colonial cosh before and during the second world war.
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Taxation without representation The DPJ stumbles in its efforts to grant foreigners the vote
http://www.economist.com –
Man attacks DPJ headquarters over gaijin suffrage
http://www.smh.com.au –
A Japanese man recently went on a rampage with a wooden sword at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Japan where he smashed computer in an attempt to "put a stop to the party's policies," especially granting suffrage to foreign permanent residents
Foreigner suffrage can fuel nationalism: Kamei
http://search.japantimes.co.jp –
Financial services minister Shizuka Kamei reiterated his oppositionto granting permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local-level elections, saying:
"Elections could heat up. Granting the right to vote would run the risk of creating antagonism because it could spur nationalist sentiments."
Japanese Gov't to submit bill to Diet to give foreigners local suffrage
http://zichi.posterous.com –
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet plans to submit a bill to the upcoming ordinary Diet session to give local suffrage to permanent foreign residents in Japan, ruling lawmakers said Tuesday.
Strong reservations remain within his Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition government about the idea, however, despite Hatoyama's and other DPJ leaders' support for it.
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