Just 16% of Japan assembly heads open to foreigner referendum voting The article report some different views about giving foreigners the right to vote in local referendums. Kyodo News, 2023.
Suburban Tokyo city rejects proposal allowing foreigners to vote As well as reporting on the decision by Musashino shi, this article explains the situation nationally on voting rights for foreigners in local referendums. Kyodo News, 2021.
EDITORIAL: It’s time to give foreign residents the right to vote in local elections This editorial looks at the issues about foreign voting raised by the referendum last year to re-organise the administrative structure in Osaka, and also has a useful overview of recent discussions about voting rights for foreigners in Japan. Asahi Shimbun, 30 Oct 2020.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike defends her party's policy of not granting foreign residents in Japan the right to vote Tokyo Gov. The article looks at the argument made by Koike that denying foreign residents in Japan the right to vote or run in local elections is necessary to protect the national interest and at criticisms of that position. Japan Times, 6 Oct 2017.
On the campaign trail for the foreign right to vote Permanent residents argue their tax contributions entitle them to a degree of representation at the ballot box. Japan Times, 2 Jul 2016.
Debate on foreigner voting rights reignites ahead of 2020 Olympics This article looks at the position of the Liberal Democratic Party on local voting rights for permanent foreign residents and at local governments that have given this right to foreign residents. Japan Times, 20 Aug 2014.
Granting Voting Rights to Foreign Residents Violates the Constitution An opinion piece by Kazuhiro Nagao, former Professor of the Constitutional Law, Faculty of Law, Chuo University. Chuo Online (Yomiuri Shimbun, 1 Mar 2010.
Local vote for foreign residents: time ripe? Permanent foreign residents of Japan may finally face a realistic chance of being granted local-level suffrage under the administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan, which has signaled a willingness to pursue such rights. Japan Times, 1 Dec 2009.
Hundreds of Koreans, foreign residents rally to demand vote Nearly 600 residents of Korean descent and some of other foreign nationalities gathered Wednesday in Tokyo to demand that the government grant permanent foreign residents the right to vote in elections for local government heads and assembly members. Japan Times, April 18, 2008.
Opinion split over giving permanent foreign residents local voting rights This article on the arguments for and against giving voting rights to foreign permanent residents in local elections focuses mainly on Korean permanent residents and connects this issue with the uqestion of dual nationality. Mainichi Daily News, 24th Nov, 2009.
Japan weighs up whether to give foreign residents the vote This article looks at the arguments for and against giving foreign residents the right to vote and considers the situation internationally as well. Japan Today, 23 Jul 2010.
Foreign residents call for local voting rights Hundreds of foreign permanent residents, mostly Koreans who came to Japan before or during World War II and their descendants, urged the government Sunday to give them the right to vote in local elections so their voices can be heard. South Korea gave foreign permanent residents the vote in local elections three years ago, and activists here said it is now Japan’s turn. Japan Times, 9 Jun 2009.
Editorial: Foreigners' voting rights The Asahi Shinbun looks at the policies of different political parties ahead of the 2010 elections and argues in support of giving voting rights to local residents. 6 Jul 2010.
2010 bill eyed to give foreigners local-level vote The government might draft legislation next year to give permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local-level elections, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday.Permanent foreign residents, including ethnic Koreans who have grown roots here since the war, aren’t allowed to vote in local elections, much less national ones, despite lobbying for the right on the grounds that they pay taxes just like Japanese. Japan Times, 24 Oct 2009.
Foreign residents on slow boat to get vote Japan Times, 28 Sep, 2000
2010 bill eyed to give foreigners local-level vote Japan Times, 24 Oct, 2009
Foreigners progress toward suffrage About the campaign by Lee Young Hwa, assistant professor of economics at Kansai University in Osaka, to get voting rights for Korean residents in Japan, and public attitudes to his campaign. Japan Times, Nov 29, 2000.
Tweak the immigration debate and demand an upgrade to denizen class This article argues against using the term foreigner or gaikokujin for all non-Japanese people in Japan regardless of whether they are tourists, short-term visitors, permanent residents or people of Korean ancestry born in Japan. It suggests that it is better to use terms like denizen (a status between foreigner and full Japanese citizen) or eifu shimin (permanent citizen) for permanent foreign residents in Japan who work here and have families here. It looks at how opposition to giving voting rights to foreign permanent residents or denizens is related to the view of all non-Japanese as foreigners. It also argues that Japanese immigration policy is based on the idea that all non-Japanese including long-term residents are foreigners and tries to prevent foreigners settling permanently in Japan. Japan Times, Apr 2, 2013.
Local Foreign Suffrage in Kawasaki City: The Changing State of Voting Rights in Japan by David Green, Graduate School of Law, Nagoya University This study analyzes immigration at the national and local levels, looking at immigration and developments in local foreign suffrage in the city of Kawasaki, a notably progressive Japanese municipality. Electronic Journal of Contemporary Japanese Studies, 2013.