Koreans in Japan fail to win voting right

The government Monday expressed its regret at the failure of the Japanese Diet to pass a bill that would have granted Korean residents in Japan the right to choose local elected officials. They also lost the hope for early action on the legislation because the closure of the extraordinary session of the Japanese legislature on Dec. 1 means that the bill will be carried over into Diet meetings next year.

Commenting on a recently passed law on the inspection of ships, the Seoul government said it needs to be implemented in such a way as to promote peace and stability in the region. The government also said that its enforcement should be based on close consultation with Korea because it affects the sovereign rights of Koreans.

Acting on a set of bills on U.S.-Japan security cooperation guidelines, which included laws passed last May on situations in adjacent areas and revisions to the law on its self-defense corps, the Japanese Diet resolved to deal with a law allowing emergency inspections of suspicious ships in Japan's adjacent waters separately from the law on special situations in adjacent areas.