Foreigners shouldn’t vote in Japan
It is my contention that in order to vote in any country, you should follow the legal avenues to become a citizen of such a country and not be voting from the outside in. Although these Korean citizens and a great deal of other nationalities currently reside in Japan on a full time, permanent basis they should not be voting in Japanese elections, be they local or national
By Randy Poehlman on Sunday, January 31st, 2010 - 476 words.
The debate about opening the polls to long time residents of Japan, who are not citizens has been raging in Japan for months now. The current discussion is focused on whether Japan should adopt legislation to extend voting rights to Permanent Residents, who are not Japanese Citizens.
The proposed Foreigner’s Suffrage bill has divided the government. The call for voting rights for long-time residents of Japan is in large part being pushed by the South Korean government. There are an estimated 400,000 Korean citizens currently holding Permanent Residency in Japan. Under current voting laws they are not allowed to cast ballots in elections. These Korean citizens are in large part fully integrated into Japanese society, speaking fluent Japanese, owning businesses and property. Many of them are third and fourth generation residents. Japanese Citizenship is based on lineage and these Koreans are kept in a pseudo-citizen category. Some of the Koreans who were Permanent Residents, have married Japanese spouses and have become naturalized citizens. Many of them are not currently Japanese Citizens.
It is my contention that in order to vote in any country, you should follow the legal avenues to become a citizen of such a country and not be voting from the outside in. Although these Korean citizens and a great deal of other nationalities currently reside in Japan on a full time, permanent basis they should not be voting in Japanese elections, be they local or national.
“The government should not be hasty in submitting a bill to the ordinary Diet session to grant local voting rights to permanent foreign residents in Japan, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi said Saturday.” (1)
Haraguchi came out in support of the legislation back in the fall of 2009 and has since became a little more moderate on his stance as the above quote demonstrates. The Democrats have been attempting to open a more positive dialogue with Seoul on a variety of issues. The main focus of the DPJ has been to increase positive relations with the Asian community, and granting voting rights to non Japanese citizens seems to be another ploy to this end.
Prime Minister Hatoyama and Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa have been supporting the foreigner’s suffrage bill and pushing for the proposed bill to make its way quickly through the necessary Diet sessions, so that it can be passed into law. The Democratic Party of Japan has been working towards Permanent Resident legislation since 1998, but due to staunch opposition from the Liberal Democrats they could not get the previous 12 bills through the house. (2)
Japan is often criticized by foreign residents as being slightly racist. Japanese citizens periodically look down on Korean Permanent Residents in Japan. Although granting voting rights to long time residents could alleviate some of these tensions, the vote specifically should only be granted to full fledged citizens of Japan.
(1)http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T100130005317.htm
(2)http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nb20091009a1.html
(+1 rating, 1 votes)
Loading ...2 Comments
Leave a Reply
Articles by this author
-
China executes Japanese senior citizen
“Yes, China will execute a 65 year old Japanese man for drug smuggling. His execution is to be followed by three more elderly Japanese citizens in the coming week. The Chinese judicial system is free to act with independence, but the world would really like to know how many executions are carried out in China annually?”
-
New Chinese ambassador to Tokyo will improve relations
Cheng Yonghua kicked-off a new diplomatic mission to Tokyo this morning. The new Ambassador arrived on Sunday and will be busy from the beginning. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is planning on making an official state visit to Japan in the spring. The announcement of Cheng as Beijing's representative to Japan is expected, in some ways to bridge the divide between the two major economies of Asia.
-
Japanese police getting slightly more proactive
This documentation initiative is a welcome step in community safety, and can only help one of the world's safest nations. If the strategy is adhered to and implemented effectively then the result will likely slightly lower an already low crime rate. It is a step in the right direction and should be followed with more moves towards an increased focus on crime prevention and a pro-active focus.
-
Japan's PM enters the Twitterocracy
Hatoyama has broken out into the digital realm with power and with panache, well sort of. His start into Twitter and blogs and generally increasing his on line persona has come later than it should have, but none-the-less, he is the first Japanese politician to embrace the new tools at his disposal in any notable manner
-
Foreigners shouldn't vote in Japan
It is my contention that in order to vote in any country, you should follow the legal avenues to become a citizen of such a country and not be voting from the outside in. Although these Korean citizens and a great deal of other nationalities currently reside in Japan on a full time, permanent basis they should not be voting in Japanese elections, be they local or national
-
Unpaid overtime is killing McDonald's managers
Many McDonald's managers estimate that they spend roughly 80 hours per month engaged in unpaid overtime. The fact that McDonald's has been expecting managers to work 80 hours unpaid overtime for the past number of years is astonishing. This policy has led to lawsuits and deaths, but still McDonald's Japan expects far too much out of their managers and their policies have obviously changed little. The company has been able to escape with little more than a slap on the hand, despite the fact that karoshi deaths continue to plague the corporate giant.
-
Financial irregularities threaten Hatoyama and Ozawa
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa are under constant criticism by the Japanese media, regarding some allegedly sketchy financial deals and some questionable election funding. The continued probes are limiting the ability of the Democrats to govern effectively.
-
International parents on edge in Japan
The custody of children in cases of international divorce is a growing issue that needs to be addressed and dealt with according to international standards. In a globalized environment, states must act with good-will towards one another and provide assurances that international norms will be respected. Having said this, Japan needs to sign the Hague Convention without delay, and put an end to these lingering issues of custody and visitation
-
Japan's Liberal Democratic Party need to modernise to stand a chance
The Liberal Democrats will not be returning to power, unless they restructure internally and provide some direction for the country.
-
Japanese PM engaged in delicate balancing act between Asia and the US
It is obvious to many that the tide is shifting to a world increasingly run by Asian powers, but the shift will be a gradual one and will place Japan on a tight-rope for the near future. Japan has remained strong economically by being a relative mute power and Hatoyama's policy of strong statements and proposals on both sides of the fence will take a more balanced effort than he has currently provided. Domestically, Hatoyama can move away from American dominance, and remain popular at home. This of course will directly impact the defence of Japan and also could have economic consequences. Moving to a more pronounced role in Asian politics is dangerous long-term for Japan as the history of relations between Japan and China, and Japan and Korea suggests. One thing is clear; Hatoyama is engaged in a delicate balancing act, due to his Asian-centric statements and his countries commitments to American agreements.
-
Junk-producing China set to surpass Japan in 2010
Japan might be overtaken by China in 2010 as the second biggest economy based on GDP, but in all the areas that matter, China continues to be a third world country, producing the world's dollar store bargains
-
Tracing Food: Why Japan has the right idea on meat production
North America needs to move in the direction Japan has regarding traceability of food sources, specifically meat. The big American food suppliers might be a touch more trust worthy if they were willing to offer all relevant information on animal products at the touch of a button.
Sounds like you've had one too many pieces of sushi Poehlman. Not letting the Koreans vote is the classic example of how blatantly and unashamedly racist Japan is. All of the “Koreans” I know down here who are third or forth generation, can't speak any Korean, have in most cases never visited Korea and couldn't be more Japanese, have to keep their passport a closely guarded, dirty little secret.
With the level of disrespect shown to them, it's no wonder they pretty form the basis of the yaks.
Those not familiar with Japan should know, that while racism in Japan doesn't manifest in the overtly violent ways it does in most other countries (or at least hasn't since the 40's), it's still a spectacularly racist country, which shows up in people's attitudes, and is institutionally engrained as evidence by the laws discussed in Randy's article.
I can't imagine getting turned away from a bar in New Zealand or Canada because your skins the wrong colour, it would obviously be a crime, but, if you remember, I had to learn that is the norm in Japan on my first night here; being denied entry to Monroes. I had to settle for taking a white chick home! Horrendous!
Giving “foreigners”, as in the korean kids who have been here for generations, the vote would be a good first step, I think, in beginning to start to change things like this, and the myriad other aspects of japans absurdly racist society.
"It is my contention that in order to vote in any country, you should follow the legal avenues to become a citizen of such a country and not be voting from the outside in. Although these Korean citizens and a great deal of other nationalities currently reside in Japan on a full time, permanent basis they should not be voting in Japanese elections, be they local or national."
So you've got a contention, that's clear, but what's your actual reason? What is the utility in denying Korean-Japanese the right to vote? How would it harm Japanese democracy? Why don't Koreans, who were born and who plan to die in Japan, deserve to have a say over the composition of their government? Please explain your reasoning.
Immigration policy in America might be fucked up in its own right and racism still a reality, but at least our Constitution guarantees that any human who emerges from a birth canal on American soil is entitled to a shiny blue passport with all sorts of RFID gizmos. Honestly, I find any other interpretation of qualification for citizenship to be unsettling and medieval, like how Turks in Germany aren't German citizens even after 3 generations of living there.
Also, saying that "Japanese citizens periodically look down on Korean Permanent Residents in Japan" seems to me to be a bit of a euphemism, especially considering the history of Japan's relations with Korea (e.g. comfort women and occupation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_under_Japanese...