外国人参政権 地方に限っても禍根を残す

The Yomiuri Shimbun(Oct. 10, 2009)
Suffrage for foreigners could court trouble
外国人参政権　地方に限っても禍根を残す（10月10日付・読売社説）

Giving foreign nationals the right to vote, even in local elections only, is problematic from the standpoints of what is stipulated in the Constitution and the fundamental roles of the state.
　地方選挙に限るとしても、外国人に参政権を認めることは、憲法の規定や国のあり方という観点から、問題が大きい。

Regarding the granting of local suffrage to permanent foreign residents in Japan, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Friday, "I personally want to come to a conclusion in a forward-looking manner."
　鳩山首相が、ソウルでの日韓首脳共同会見で、永住外国人への地方選挙権付与について、「私個人の意見としては、前向きに結論を出したい」と述べた。

Hatoyama's remark was made in response to a question put forward by a reporter from the South Korean media at a joint press conference held with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak after their meeting in Seoul.
"People's feelings and thoughts aren't necessarily unified," Hatoyama later added, apparently out of awareness that views on this issue are sharply divided in Japan.
　韓国側の記者の質問に答えたもので、首相は「国民感情は必ずしも統一されていない」とも付け加えた。日本国内の議論が割れていることを意識したのだろう。

The Democratic Party of Japan included the granting of local suffrage to permanent foreign residents in its basic policies when the party was formed in 1998. Besides Hatoyama, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada are among party members who support the policy.
　民主党は、１９９８年の結党時の基本政策に、永住外国人への地方選挙権付与の実現を掲げた。首相のほか、小沢幹事長や岡田外相など推進派が少なくない。

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1995 ruling was clear-cut

The 1995 Supreme Court ruling on a lawsuit in which a group of South Korean residents in Japan sought local suffrage has stoked the arguments made by advocates of local suffrage for permanent foreign residents. The ruling's obiter dictum remarks said granting foreign residents local suffrage is not prohibited under the Constitution and that the matter concerns the nation's legislative policies.
　選挙権付与に積極的な論者が根拠とするのは、在日韓国人が地方選挙権を求めた訴訟での９５年最高裁判決だ。傍論部分で、憲法上は禁止されておらず、国の立法政策にかかわる問題としている。

However, the main part of the ruling said the people's right to select and dismiss public officials under Article 15 of the Constitution rests with "Japanese people," that is, Japanese nationals. The ruling also said that "residents"--people who elect heads of local governments and members of local assemblies as stipulated under Article 93 of the Constitution--refer to people who have Japanese nationality.
　だが、判決の本論は、国民主権の原理に立って、憲法１５条の公務員を選定・罷免する権利は、日本国籍を持つ「日本国民」にあると明示した。９３条の地方自治体の首長・議員を選出する「住民」も日本国民を指すとしている。

Citing only the obiter dictum, which is a nonlegally binding supportive argument, as legal grounds for foreign suffrage is absurd.
　法的拘束力のない傍論だけを根拠にするのは強引過ぎる。

It is also a stretch to argue that opinions of foreign residents should be reflected in local public services by giving them the right to vote in local elections. This is because local governments are closely entwined in issues that pertain to the nation's basic policies.
　外国人に地方選挙権を与えて、地域住民への公共サービスに外国人の意見を反映できるようにしてよいのではないか、という主張にも無理がある。地方自治体は、国の基本政策に関する問題にも密接にかかわるからだ。

The law regarding the nation's response to attacks by foreign forces and the law to protect people's lives and assets in such attacks and other emergencies both stipulate that the central and local governments should cooperate in such contingencies. It is not unfathomable that permanent foreign residents who are nationals of countries hostile to Japan could disrupt or undermine local governments' cooperation with the central government by wielding influence through voting in local elections.
　武力攻撃事態法や国民保護法は有事における国と自治体の協力を定めている。日本に敵対する国の国籍を持つ永住外国人が選挙を通じて、自治体の国への協力を妨げることもありえよう。

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ROK decision was for ROK

South Korea granted local suffrage to permanent foreign residents in 2005. So far only a handful of Japanese residents in South Korea have been given the right to vote there.
　韓国は２００５年に在韓永住外国人に地方選挙権を付与した。だが、在韓日本人で選挙権を付与されたのはごくわずかだ。

There are about 420,000 permanent foreign residents in Japan. Arguing that Japan should grant foreign residents local suffrage just because South Korea allows its foreign residents to vote is beside the point.
日本の永住外国人は約４２万人に上る。韓国が認めたのだから、という議論は成り立たない。

South Korea in February granted South Korean nationals living abroad the right to vote in national elections.
　韓国は今年２月、在外韓国人に国政選挙権を与えた。

If Japan lets foreign residents vote in local elections, South Korean residents in Japan could vote for a president and parliamentary members of South Korea as well as for governors, mayors and local assembly members in Japan. Whether such dual voting rights should be permitted opens up another can of worms altogether.
　日本が地方選挙権を認めれば、在日韓国人は、韓国で大統領や国会議員に投票できるうえ、日本でも知事や市町村長、地方議員に投票できるようになる。そのような二重選挙権を認めてよいのか、という議論も出てくるだろう。

If non-Japanese want to be granted suffrage, they should obtain Japanese nationality. That is the bottom line.
　外国人が参政権を望むなら、やはり、日本国籍を取得するのが筋だ。

Taking rash steps on this issue must not be allowed as they could open the door to perilous problems in the future.
拙速な判断で、将来に禍根を残してはならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Oct. 10, 2009)
（2009年10月10日01時19分 読売新聞）