The rejection, Tuesday, December 21, under pressure from nationalist circles, of the proposal by the city of Musashino (Kanto) to grant the right to vote to foreigners, for local referendums, reflects a persistent mistrust of Japan vis-à-vis nationals from elsewhere, exacerbated since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Some considered that the proposal had not convinced the citizens”, said, to put it mildly, Reiko Matsushita, the mayor of Musashino, after the failure of his project, supported by the progressive, democratic and communist formations.
According to the text, presented on November 12, the referendums were to be open to foreigners over the age of 18 who had resided for more than three months in the town of 150,000 inhabitants in western Tokyo, known for its lively district of Kichijoji. Mme Matsushita wished so “Achieve a multicultural society” and did not see “No reason to exclude foreigners” of these consultations, the result of which does not entail any legal obligation. She had specified that her project in no way gave the right to vote to foreigners for the elections. Such a system is already in place in Zushi, south of Tokyo, and Toyonaka, in the west of the country.
Old debate, but little progress
As soon as Mme Matsushita, the oppositions are mobilized. Small xenophobic groups, starting with the Japan First party, led by activist Makoto Sakurai – known for his hate speech against the Korean minority in Japan – organized rallies in the center of Musashino. The seventy parliamentarians of the Liberal Democratic Party (ruling PLD), members of the Association for the Protection of the Dignity and National Interests of Japan, called the project a threat to national security. PLD member Masahisa Sato said on Twitter: “This is the open door to China’s entryism. “ He also pointed out that foreigners could end up gaining the right to vote in elections and “Control the administration and the Parliament”.
“What would happen if such projects were adopted in municipalities housing US military bases or Self-Defense Forces?” [FAD, l’armée japonaise], nuclear power plants or islands at the heart of territorial disputes? “, asked Hidetsugu Yagi, a specialist in constitutional law at Reitaku University, in the very conservative daily Sankei.
Debates over foreigners’ right to vote are not new to Japan, but progress is scarce. In 1984, a revision of the Nationality Law gave this right to children born to a couple with a Japanese parent. And, since the early 1990s, around 40 municipalities have allowed permanent residents to speak in local referendums.
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