We have submitted petitions to all 36 local assemblies (Towards a society where everyone can have "hope" - Simultaneous petition project to local assemblies)

In Japanese society, there are many people who are forgotten and cannot speak up, such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and undocumented immigrants. That is why APFS has launched the "Road to Hope Project." The "Road to Hope Project" focuses on undocumented immigrants in particular and aims to raise their voices. It aims to create a tolerant society where undocumented immigrants can live comfortably. It will work hand in hand with the elderly, people with disabilities, and others to expand the circle of support. At the end of the project, it will put together a proposal for the legalization of undocumented immigrants. The proposal calls for amnesty (simultaneous legalization) or more extensive use of special residence permits than before.

As part of the project, we began a "simultaneous petition to local assemblies" on Monday, August 18, 2014. The purpose of the petition is to ask for a letter of opinion to be submitted to the national government calling for 1) the regularization of undocumented residents, and 2) the creation of a society in which everyone can have "hope."As of Thursday, September 11, 2014, we had submitted petitions to all 36 local assemblies, including the 16 cities, wards, towns, and villages and the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, where irregular residents currently live.We would like to thank you for your cooperation.

APFS has repeatedly submitted requests to the relevant government agencies (the national government) together with the people involved. However, in recent years, our requests have not been accepted. We believe that it is precisely at times like these that we need to steadily build up from the bottom up. Some undocumented immigrants help disabled people living in their neighborhoods with their shopping, and continue to interact with elderly people. We are petitioning local assemblies in the hope that by first raising awareness of this issue in the local areas where undocumented immigrants live, and then by having them express their opinions to the national government, the situation may change slightly.

I will briefly explain how petitions are reviewed. Petitions are referred to a committee (entrusting the review of a bill to another organization prior to a vote at the plenary session), and the committee decides whether to accept or reject the petition. After that, the plenary session votes on whether the committee accepted or rejected the petition.

On September 11th, the petition was explained at the Matsudo City Council General Affairs and Finance Standing Committee. Unfortunately, the petition was rejected, but some people commented that "flexible application is necessary," "Even if an undocumented person is staying in the city, they should be able to receive public services such as national health insurance, school attendance, and welfare because they are actually living in the city," and "My child was friends with another child who had overstayed his visa, but one day he was suddenly deported. I have had the experience of struggling to explain to my child why he had disappeared." Although the petition was rejected, I think it is significant that local assembly members took an interest in the petition.

It is not easy to have a petition adopted, but we hope to continue with the project in order to increase the number of local assembly members who are interested in this issue.

The simultaneous petition to local assemblies is being carried out through the crowdfunding site READY FOR?
The project's achievement rate is not increasing. Please support us by buying gifts and spreading the word about the project on Facebook, etc. Thank you.

Towards a society where everyone can have "hope" - Petition project to local assemblies
https://readyfor.jp/projects/livingtogether