Korean residents want local suffrage

As the ruling parties are getting more reluctant even to discuss the issue in parliament, about 4,000 South Korean residents in Japan on June 5 held a rally in Hibiya Park in Tokyo to call for the early enactment of legislation to establish local suffrage for foreigners with permanent residence.

Kim Jae-Sook of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) Central Head Office, demanded that permanent foreign residents' right to vote in local elections be legislated in the next Diet session. He said he can no longer keep silent after the Liberal Democratic and the Komei parties decided to shelve the bill to the great disappointment to many Korean residents.

Speaking in solidarity with the rally participants, Ichida Tadayoshi, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat head said, "The principle of local autonomy is residents' participation in local administration, a principle established by the Constitution."

Stating that the JCP bill is one of giving the local franchise to permanent foreign residents, Ichida criticized the Koizumi Cabinet for trying to shelve the matter without parliamentary discussions.

Speakers also included representatives of the Democratic, Liberal, Social Democratic, Komei, and New Cons

ervative parties. (end)