A House of Representatives panel on Wednesday began discussing two bills that would give permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections.

Members of the Special Committee on Political Ethics and Election Law in the lower chamber heard the reasons for submitting the bills, while panel executives decided to hold a question-and-answer session today.

One of the bills was submitted on July 5 by two coalition parties, New Komeito and the New Conservative Party. The other was submitted the same day by the Democratic Party of Japan, the largest opposition force.

The major coalition party, the Liberal Democratic Party, did not join its partners in presenting the first bill as some LDP members staunchly oppose the legislation.

The bills aim to grant permanent foreign residents -- mostly descendents of Koreans forcibly brought to Japan before and during World War II -- the right to vote in local assembly, mayoral and gubernatorial elections.

There are 630,000 of these ethnic minorities in Japan.

The two bills are identical as they are both based on a bill jointly submitted by the DPJ and New Komeito in October 1998, when New Komeito was part of the opposition camp. The bill was killed on that occasion -- mainly because of opposition from the LDP.

According to coalition sources, the three-party ruling coalition intends to abandon plans to try to enact a bill during the current Diet session, scheduled to end Dec. 1.

Opposition parties, however, are planning to promote discussions on the bill during the ongoing Diet session, opposition sources said.

The pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan and Seoul itself are strong backers of the legislation. South Korean President Kim Dae Jung has urged Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to enact the bill by the end of the year.