Since JapanToday doesn’t like to keep articles (their hard drives must only hold 2GBs) here’s the article:

Haraguchi positive on granting foreigners local voting rights
Friday 09th October, 06:11 AM JST

TOKYO —
Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi showed a positive stance Thursday over a proposal to give voting rights to foreign nationals with permanent residency in gubernatorial, mayoral and local assembly elections in Japan. ‘‘Some conclusion should be reached on the matter, and I want to seek a realistic response,’’ Haraguchi said.

In August before assuming power, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said that while there are arguments within his party for and against the idea of granting local voting rights to foreign residents, the time has come to consider it more positively. Last month, DPJ Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa told a South Korean lawmaker he would try to settle the issue during the next regular parliamentary session beginning in January.

The local voting right issue is expected to be taken up at Friday’s summit meeting in Seoul between Hatoyama and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak. Hatoyama will visit China to attend a trilateral summit to be held the following day in Beijing involving the leaders of Japan, China and South Korea.

Asked when a bill intended to grant local voting rights to foreign residents would be presented in the Diet, Haraguchi said it is too early to say.

However, a number of DPJ lawmakers are hesitant about granting local voting rights to foreigners.

One of the DPJ’s coalition partners, the People’s New Party led by Financial Services Minister Shizuka Kamei, is opposed to it. LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki is also unenthusiastic.

Feel free to publicly embarrass me enough so that I can’t leave the house without crying uncontrollably.