THE JAPANESE Conceptilon of POLITICAL MEMBERSHIP in COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

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THE JAPANESE Conceptilon of POLITICAL MEMBERSHIP in COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE VOTING RIGHTS OF THE "MARGINAL": THE JAPANESE CONCEPTIlON OF POLITICAL MEMBERSHIP IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Kolnrad Kalicki B .A., University of Winnipeg, 2004 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of Political Science O Konrad Kalicki, 2006 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Spring 2006 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author. APPROVAL Name: Konrad Kalicki Degree: Master of Arts, Department of Political Science 'Title of Thesis: Voting Rights of the "Marginal": The Japanese Conception of Political Membership in Comparative Perspective Examining Committee: Chair: Dr. Laurent Dobuzinskis, Associate Professor Department of Political Science Dr. Tsuyoshi Kawasaki, Associate Professor Senior Supervisor Department of Political Science Dr. David Laycock, Professor Supervisor Department of Political Science Dr. Jan Wa~lls,Director / Professor External Examiner David See-Chai Lam Centre for International Communication Date DefendediApproved: March 27th. 2006 uruiv~~s~nlSIMON FRASER ibra ry DECLARATION OF PARTIAL COPYRIGHT LICENCE The author, whose copyright is declared on the title page of this work, has granted to Simon Fraser University the right to lend this thesis, project or extended essay to users of the Simon Fraser University Library, and to make partial or single copies only for such users or in response to a request from the library of any other university, or other educational institution, on its own behalf or for one of its users. The author has further granted permission to Simon Fraser University to keep or make a digital copy for use in its circulating collection, and, without changing the content, to translate the thesislproject or extended essays, if technically possible, to any medium or format for the purpose of preservation of the digital work. The author has further agreed that permission for multiple copying of this work for scholarly purposes may be granted by either the author or the Dean of Graduate Studies. It is understood that copying or publication of this work for financial gain shall not be allowed without the author's written permission. Permission for public performance, or limited permission for private scholarly use, of any multimedia materials forming part of this work, may have been granted by the author. This information may be found on the separately catalogued multimedia material and in the signed Partial Copyright Licence. The original Partial Copyright Licence attesting to these terms, and signed by this author, may be found in the original bound copy of this work, retained in the Simon Fraser University Archive. Simon Fraser University Library Burnaby, BC, Canada ABSTRACT The right to vote ultimately expresses political membership in democratic states. The logic behind franchise rules in a particular state tells us much about how that state conceives its polity. This becomes clear if we study voting rights of marginal groups, since these people often define boundaries of the polity in question. From this perspective, the present study investigates the logic of Japanese political membership by scrutinizing voting rights of overseas Japanese and non-citizen ethnic minorities inside Japan. Utilizing Elaine R. Thomas' analytical framework, the study identifies competing conceptions of political belonging expressed in Japanese debates about voting rights of the two marginal groups. My finding is that the Japanese conception of political membership is more complex than one would expect from the strong ethnic homogeneity of the Japanese community. This study also clarifies where Japan stands in relation to other states. Keywords: Belonging, Japan, political community, political membership, voting rights To my parents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A number of people have supported and encouraged me in my intellectual endeavors. I would like to mention Allen Mills, Peter Ives, Rais Khan, Lynda Erickson, and James Busumtwi-Sam. As far as this work is concerned in particular, I am deeply indebted to Tsuyoshi Kawasaki who helped shape this project and offered supportive mentorship. His ideas have always been a source of inspiration for me. I am also grateful to David Laycock for his comments and suggestiolns throughout various stages of this project, to Jan Walls, my external examiner, for providing me with intellectual stimulation, and to In Seop Chung for sharing his extensive knowledge regarding the case of non-citizen voting in South Korea. Special thanks are due to Laura Sparrow for her administrative assistance. Finally, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the encouragement and support of my family.. My parents in particular are my constant sources of inspiration. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. Approval .............................................................................................................................11 ... Abstract .............................................................................................................................111 Dedication ..........................................................................................................................iv Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ v Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Existing Literature .................................................................................... 2 1. 2 The Methodology ............................................................................................ 3 1.3 Key Findings ................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Organization .................................................................................................... 6 Chapter 2. Analytical Framework ...................................................................................7 2.1 Thomas' Typology of Competing Conceptions of Political Membership ..................................................................................................... 7 2.2 The Application of Thomas' Framework ...................................................... 15 Chapter 3. Global Overview of the Ovlerseas Voting Rights and Political Franchise for Non-CitizenIForeign Minorities .........................................20 Overseas Voting ............................................................................................ 20 Non-Citizens and the Right to Vote .............................................................. 35 Chapter 4 . Overseas Voting: The Case of Japan .........................................................55 4 . I . Japan's Debates over Overseas Voting Rights: An Historical Overview ...................................................................................................... 55 4.2! Testing Competing Conceptions of Political Membership ........................... 65 Chapter 5 . Non-Citizen Minority Voting: The Case of Japan ....................................79 5.1 Japan's Debates over Non-Citizen Minority Voting Rights: An Historical Overview ....................................................................................... 79 5.2 Testing Competing Conceptions of Political Membership ...........................95 Chapter 6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................118 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 123 Works Cited .................................................................................................................. 123 Newspapers and Periodicals Cited ............................................................................... 140 LIST OF TABLES Tab1 e 1 Overview of Thomas' Theoretical Framework of Political Membership ............19 Table 2 Cross-National Differences in th~eApproach to Overseas Voting .......................35 Table 3 Cross-National Differences in the Approach to Non-Citizen Voting .................. 53 Table 4 Overseas Vote: Prediction as to Who Should Get the Franchise According to Thomas' Typology ......................................................................... 66 Table 5 Expectations and Research Findings for Overseas Voting .................................. 78 Table 6 Non-Citizen Vote: Prediction as to Who Should Get the Franchise According to Thomas' Typology .........................................................................97 Table 7 Expectations and Research Findings for Non-Citizen Voting ........................... 117 vii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION When a government extends voting privileges to certain groups of people, it is in practice determining who can become members of its political community or who belongs to a given polity. To put it differently, enfranchisement is a mechanism of defining a political community. The right to vote, that is, the right to select those who decide policy or law, which is in practice an act of shaping the future of a political community,
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