2003 JAPAN LAW: DISABLED VOTING RIGHTS
Keywords: Election Law, Voting Rights, Disabled Rights
Copyright 2004. All rights reserved Attorney Roderick H. Seeman
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In compliance with a decision of the Tokyo District Court in 2002 that found the governments refusal to accept votes filled out and mailed in by proxies on behalf of disabled voters was unconstitutional and violated voting rights, changes have been made to help disabled voters. Proxies will be able to fill out the voting forms on behalf of disabled people who can not write. This will help 130,000 disabled people in Japan. This will apply as well for absentee ballots mailed in. To be eligible the disabled will have to be certified disabled or war wounded. Many people who received home case services will also be eligible for such assistance, helping another 120,000 voters. Such proxies will have to be registered with the local election board and will be fined 300,000 yen or imprisoned for 2 years in cases of fraud. Another decision by the Tokyo District Court in 2002 finding that a certain disabled person who had  not been able to have such assistance in voting had had his voting rights violated, and that this was contrary to the Constitution, the Court  did not believe that any award damages were possible. The disabled party appealed to the Tokyo High Court but the Tokyo High Court simply recommended that the parties settle. Another 2003 decision by the Osaka District Court rejected a suit by a man who was also not permitted to vote by mail. In his case he claimed he suffered from anxiety. In its February, 2003 decision however, the court recommended that system could be improved to be more compliant with the Constitution.