June 14, 2022

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira received a visit by Lee Keun Chool, vice-president of the Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan), at the JCP head office on June 13.

Lee handed a written letter to Kasai, requesting that relations between Japan and South Korea be promptly restored, hate speech and crimes be eradicated, and local suffrage be granted to permanent foreign residents.

Lee said that the enfranchisement is an issue relating to all foreign residents in Japan, asking for the JCP to work to realize the granting of the right to vote in local elections.

Kasai said that he, as a member of the delegation of Japanese lawmakers, attended talks held with President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol following the ceremony of Yoon’s inauguration in May. He went on to say, “An early restoration of Tokyo-Seoul relations is a wish we share. Standing firm on the principle of the 1998 Japan-ROK Partnership Declaration, the Japanese government should commit itself to building a forward-looking relationship with South Korea while squarely facing up to its wartime past.”

He added, “I will certainly work on what you have requested today.”

Past related article:
> JCP Inoue: Local suffrage for permanent foreign residents in Japan is not prohibited under Constitution [January 21, 2022