Two bills aimed at granting permanent foreign residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections will be carried over to the next Diet session, a Diet committee said Friday.
The decision by the Lower House Special Committee on Political Ethics and the Election Law was endorsed by a House of Representatives plenary session in the afternoon.
The 150-day regular Diet session closed later in the day.
One of the bills was jointly submitted by New Komeito and the New Conservative Party, which make up the ruling coalition led by the Liberal Democratic Party.
The other was submitted by Japan's largest opposition force, the Democratic Party of Japan.
The bills would give permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local assembly, mayoral and gubernatorial elections.
Most of Japan's 630,000 permanent foreign residents are Koreans who were born in Japan. Seoul is pushing for the bills to be passed, although several LDP members oppose the measures.