A committee of the Musashino city assembly in western Tokyo has approved a proposed ordinance that would allow foreign residents to vote in local referendums, with the measure set to be put to a plenary vote on Dec. 21.
If the ordinance is passed, Musashino will become the third city in Japan to grant voting rights to foreigners without setting special conditions, along with Zushi in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, and Toyonaka in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan.
Musashino is a suburban area with a population of nearly 150,000. The popular shopping and residential district of Kichijoji is among its neighborhoods.
The city assembly's general affairs committee gave the green light to the controversial proposal Monday amid divided opinions in the assembly. It has also drawn flak online, with critics saying it could be a step toward granting suffrage in national elections to foreigners.
Musashino Mayor Reiko Matsushita submitted a proposal to the assembly in November for holding referendums that would allow foreigners aged 18 or above to vote in them if they have lived in the city for at least three months -- the same conditions that would apply to Japanese residents.
Under the proposal, referendums can be held without an assembly vote if the signatures of a quarter of eligible voters in the city are collected. The results of referendums, however, will not be legally binding.
"I am aiming to create a city that accepts diversity," Matsushita said during the committee's deliberations. "Those who have just come to Japan are also part of the community," she said.
Assembly members with ties to the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan supported the proposal, while members associated with the Liberal Democratic Party opposed it, with one arguing the plan had been hastily decided, saying, "Explanations to citizens have been insufficient."
Among the six members of the committee, three voted for the plan, while the three others voted against it, but it was eventually passed after the CDPJ-backed committee chair gave it the nod.
Other than the cities of Zushi and Toyonaka, about 40 municipalities in Japan allow foreigners to vote in referendums, but with some conditions applied such as having the status of permanent residency.
