DPJ split deepens over foreigner suffrage bill

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Feb 11, 2008

The split in the Democratic Party of Japan over a planned bill to grant permanent foreign residents voting rights in local elections has further deepened, with groups of advocates and skeptics holding separate meetings on the issue.

DPJ Secretary General Yukio Hatoyama has tried to bring the two sides of the conflict closer together, but with the issue tied to speculation over September's party presidential election, it will be difficult to successfully resolve the problem.

Twenty-two DPJ lawmakers, including Vice President Katsuya Okada and House of Councillors member Yoshihiro Kawakami, attended the first meeting of proponents of the bill on Jan. 30.

Okada, who heads the group, indicated his determination to have the bill submitted.

"We're going to put forward this issue so that as a party we can submit it as a bill," Okada said.

The proponents' group has invited outside experts to participate in its regular Tuesday study meetings. The group hopes that after discussing the matter at departmental and other party meetings, the bill will be submitted during the current Diet session.

On the same day the proponents' group met 23 lawmakers, including senior House of Representatives member Kozo Watanabe--the party's top adviser--and upper house Rules and Administration Committee Chairman Takeo Nishioka, attended the first meeting of a group of skeptics over the issue.

This group is also holding study meetings with outside experts when needed.

The skeptics group is calling for the party leadership not to apply a whip forcing lawmakers to vote in favor of the bill should it be submitted.

With both sides again scheduling separate meetings on Tuesday evening, the matter is shaping up as a leadership battle within the main opposition party.

In light of this situation, Hatoyama and Policy Research Committee Chairman Masayuki Naoshima met Thursday and agreed it was not good to have two groups opposed to each other in this way.

At a press conference Friday, Hatoyama advocated discussion through an official party body such as a working group of a party departmental meeting.

However, the implications of the issue for September's leadership election are complicating matters since the group advocating the bill was formed with the support of party President Ichiro Ozawa.

Some senior party members who support the granting of suffrage to permanent foreign residents have declined to join the proponents' group out of concern that the group is tarred with the brush of Ozawa.

At the same time, other party members resisting to Hatoyama's proposal to create an official party body to discuss the matter.

"Wasn't it the party leadership who decided it would be better for the matter to be discussed by groups [within the party] rather than an official party body?" one party executive asked.

Lawmakers in favor of Okada taking over the party reins from Ozawa have also expressed concerns.

"[Mr. Ozawa] chose Mr. Okada as head [of the advocates' group] so that any resulting confusion within the party could be blamed on him," one lawmaker said. "Mr. Okada should quickly extract himself from this predicament."

(Feb. 11, 2008)