 Supreme Court approves Tokyo Government's denial of promotion to Korean resident in Japan The Supreme Court on January 26 overturned a lower court decision that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's denial of a promotional test to its non-Japanese employee is unconstitutional. This was in a lawsuit filed by Chong Hyang Gyun, a South Korean resident in Japan and Tokyo government employee. The top court ruled that it is justifiable for the metropolitan government to bar non-Japanese residents from jobs that exercise public authority. Only two of the fifteen judges dissented from the judgment. In 1997, the Tokyo High Court upheld Chong Hyang Gyun's claim that the discrimination is unconstitutional and ordered the Tokyo government to pay damages to her. Akahata of January 27 said, "There is no justification for denying promotion to permanent foreign residents since the constitutional principle of local self-government requires participation of residents in local politics and public services." In a proposal published in November 1998, the Japanese Communist Party made its position clear that it calls for permanent foreign residents to be granted with the right to participate in local government, including the right to vote and run for public office. (end) |