OSAKA -- Human rights groups have welcomed Shiga Gov. Yoshitsugu Kunimatsu's promise to review the prefecture's policy of barring foreign residents from living in public housing if they are unable to speak Japanese.
But they added that Shiga's Japanese speakers-only policy reflects a nationwide problem of vague and arbitrary rules regarding public housing that allows local officials to ignore national laws and international treaties banning discriminatory practices.
In early July, local media reports revealed that since 1994, Shiga Prefecture has had a policy of only accepting applications for prefectural public housing from foreigners who speak "sufficient" Japanese.