Citizen groups are preparing to file a petition to the National Assembly and City Council so that foreign citizens of Osaka can vote for the question of the Osaka Metropolitan Government. The secret word is "Let's decide important things together". The talk session will be held in the city on the 14th, and he wants to stimulate discussions on expanding voting rights.
The referendum is expected to be held next fall and winter. The Big City Regional Special Zone Establishment Law (Big City Law), which is the basis, stipulates that the Public Office Election Law, which stipulates the rules for selecting parliamentarians and chiefs for voting rights, shall apply mutatis mutandis. According to the Public Office Election Law, voting rights are limited to Japanese citizens, so foreign residents cannot vote even in Tokyo. It was the same operation in the last 2015 vote.
The citizen group “Minju (People's vote!)” Will submit a petition to the National Assembly in December to request amendments to the Large City Law so that foreign residents living in Osaka can vote. It also plans to petition the city council to submit a written opinion requesting the law revision to the Diet. It doesn't touch the pros and cons of the city concept.
A petition is a system stipulated in the Constitution that allows you to appeal directly to Congress with requests and complaints. In order to submit, the introduction of the members of the Diet is required. Minju visits members of the Diet, regardless of the ruling and opposition parties, and seeks to become a referral member or discuss in the Diet. Collect signatures to be submitted with the petition.
The callers include playwright Oriza Hirata and picture book writer Yoshifumi Hasegawa. One of them, Korean NGO Center President Kaktinun (53), is Korean III in Japan. Nearly half of the approximately 137,000 foreign residents in Osaka City are Koreans in Japan, with about 22,000 people living in Ikuno Ward.
Guo himself has no voting experience ...