Tokyo city committee OKs plan for foreigners to vote in referendums

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 am…READ FULL ARTICLE