Arab News Japan

TOKYO: The peace and quiet of Tokyo’s popular Inokashira Park was disturbed on Saturday by protesters opposed to the vote of foreigners in local referendums in the town of Musashino.  Carrying Japanese flags and signs, the protesters called for the mayor’s resignation and the waiver of the draft ordinance.

Reiko Matsushita, the mayor of Musashino has decided to pass an order in favor of allowing foreigners resident for more than three months in the district to participate in local referendums. The municipal ordinance is expected to be passed.

It is the third city in Japan to attempt something like this.  Two other foreign voting ordinances have been attempted in Okinawa and Hyogo Prefecture.

According to a poll by the district town hall of 508 people who answered a town hall questionnaire, 73.2 percent of Musashino citizens would be in favor of allowing foreigners the vote and 20.5 percent would be against.

The protesters against the foreign vote gathered in Inokashira Park at the call of the Japan First Party, which is known for its xenophobic positions.  Many police officers were on hand to monitor the protesters. Other protesters in favor of the vote and opposed to racism attempted to disrupt the Japan First Party protest.

Among the counter-demonstrators, a few resident foreigners worried about the xenophobic climate demonstrated. A married Englishman who is soon to be a father and who resides in a neighboring borough told Arab News Japan that he probably pays more taxes than many of the Japanese opposed to foreign votes and that he wants a comfortable country for his child live in in the future.  A Japanese resident of the area said she was in favor of voting for foreigners and totally opposed to hate speech.

The voting proposal is part of a local initiative allowing for greater inclusion of resident foreigners in the municipality.