City shelves bid to clarify that foreign residents are citizens

KUMAMOTO--The city government will shelve a proposal to clarify the status of foreign nationals as citizens after receiving a torrent of public comments expressing fear it could lead to them gaining the right to vote.

Municipal authorities had planned to formally submit their proposal to revise the basic autonomy ordinance with symbolic changes aimed at encouraging foreigners to engage in more civic activities to a city assembly session on Feb. 20.

But they abandoned it after receiving a flurry of written comments from hundreds of members of the public opposing the measure.

“The revision would pose a problem in terms of Japan’s national security at a time when the international situation is unstable,” read one comment. “Only people with Japanese citizenship should get involved in local autonomy and civic activities," said another.

Municipal officials said many of the negative views expressed toward the measure stem from misunderstanding of its intent.

“We should not perplex or confuse citizens,” Kumamoto Mayor Kazufumi Onishi said at a Feb. 13 news conference, explaining why the proposal is being shelved. “In addition, it would amount to putting the cart before the horse if backlash against foreign nationals was sparked by pushing through our legal revision.”

Foreign nationals are already treated as citizens under the ordinance. But the proposed revisions would have added a clause stating that Kumamoto citizens include foreign nationals.

The stated purpose of the revision is to make foreign residents aware that they are citizens and encourage them to deepen their connections with their local communities and revitalize community activities, according to city officials.

The amendments would not grant any additional rights or duties to foreign nationals, officials said.

Local officials announced Feb. 15 the municipal government received 1,888 public comments from 1,476 individuals about the proposed revision over the course of a month or so. Most of those who wrote in live outside the prefecture. Breaking down the numbers, 457 are residents of the city, while 92 live in outside the city in Kumamoto Prefecture, and the remaining 927 are residents of other prefectures.

Around 70 percent of the public comments, or 1,315, were about the city’s plan to clarify the status of foreign residents.

More than 90 percent of the 1,315 public comments expressed concerns that this could pave the way for their eventual right to vote, although the draft proposal did not broach the subject.

Many public comments also blasted another part of the proposal that would have stated the city is committed to promoting a multicultural society.

Local authorities are supposed to review the basic autonomy ordinance every four years or sooner.

A panel of experts and representatives of local communities aimed at promoting local autonomy recommended the revision in October.