A Japanese newspaper reports that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan is considering granting suffrage to certain permanent foreign residents for local Japanese elections.

The party's move is seen as an attempt to allow only ethnic Korean residents to cast ballots in local elections while denying suffrage to residents of Chinese descent.

The Asahi Shimbun said the Japanese ruling party’s internal organization has been considering limiting local election suffrage only to special permanent foreign residents from countries where Japan maintains diplomatic relations.

Among foreign permanent residents in Japan, ethnic Koreans who were taken to Japan during its colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula are considered special residents. Chinese people are considered ordinary residents.