He and his wife survive on a tiny safety-net welfare payment. Japan's justice system, in fact its whole framework of public administration, is aimed at furthering social and racial homogeneity. The Korean President, Kim Dae-jung, made an impassioned plea for the passage of the legislation during a visit to Japan a few months ago. It has the support of the LDP's most powerful backroom operator, Hiromu Nonaka, a longtime campaigner for minority rights, and New Komeito, the small Buddhist-backed party that props up the Government's numbers in parliament. But the LDP's vocal conservative flank has successfully mined community concerns about the implications of letting non-citizens vote.
Opinion polls show the public deeply split.
Some back the legislation on the grounds of no taxation without representation and the need to redress wrongs. Others fear it will lead to a full foreign franchise.