The right to vote is one of the greatest things you can possess. It signifies choice, freedom and representation. People fought and died to earn the right to vote, and people have fought just as hard to ensure they don't lose that right.
A vote gives you a say in the way the country you live in operates or, more importantly, your immediate surroundings. Some groups around the world remain disenfranchised of that voice, be it through discrimination, criminal activity or simply having left their country of birth.
Until recently, the United Kingdom fell under the latter category — sort of.
The rule was that for 15 years after leaving the country, you could vote in general elections and certain referendums. But on becoming an overseas resident, you lost your right to vote in any European Union or local U.K. elections.
The EU aspect of that ceased to be an issue on Jan. 31, 2020, when the U.K. officially left the bloc. But a bigger change to that policy has come more recently. As of Jan. 16, Brits abroad are able to register to vote regardless of how long they have lived overseas. That includes the more than 17,000 British citizens who live in Japan. The BBC claimed that this decision instantly added up to 2 million possible voters to the electoral roll, including children who had left before reaching the general election voting age of 18.
The rules for which types of elections voters are eligible for have not changed, being limited to general elections and some referendums. But there is no limit on registration, meaning an individual can move abroad and vote in British general elections for the rest of their lives, regardless of where they live.
An interesting move, for sure. But a benevolent move? Likely not.
A commitment to deal with what it called “the arbitrary 15-year limit” was introduced by the ruling Conservative Party in its 2019 manifesto, just ahead of a general election. Referring to the “deep ties” many expatriates have with their homeland and acknowledging that “expats of all political stripes are keen to have their say on issues that affect them,” the Tories almost sounded to be cast in the same mold as the great British women’s suffrage campaigners of more than a century past.
However, it has often been assumed in British political circles that, for one reason or another, many overseas voters are much more likely to vote for conservative parties. Those 2 million extra voters, in some people’s eyes, may as well be dressed in blue and waving the Union Jack under a portrait of Margaret Thatcher.
Whether that pans out is a different matter. The search for extra voters may end in those 2 million living abroad. But if those 2 million have been paying attention to British politics in the past five years, it could all backfire. Things haven't really been going so well for the Conservative Party since Boris Johnson ziplined into 10 Downing Street with his party hat firmly strapped to his professionally tousled hair.
The timing of the move appears to be crucial, given that a general election must take place by late January 2025. For all parties, there are now many more potential voters to start appealing to, and efforts must surely be underway to get them back on board the good ship Blighty, registered to vote and with their crosses in all the right boxes.
Getting out the vote
So for long-term British expats in Japan, how should you go about exercising your newfound rights, and is there anything to watch out for?
Your first port of call is the dedicated government voter registration website, which tells you where to click and what to do. You can do it all online, but note that the different countries of the U.K. do sometimes have slightly different processes. The site will guide you through it.
The process should, according to the site, take about five minutes, and it will help you ensure you get a ballot mailed to you before the next election.
There are a couple of things to bear in mind. The first thing to know is that when you register, you will be asked for your last address in the U.K. This determines where you will appear on the electoral roll and in which constituency you will be able to vote.
The other issue may be with receiving mailed ballots very close to elections. In my case as a registered voter since I arrived in Japan, there have been times when my ballot arrived so close to election day that I dashed out to post it within an hour after delivery, hoping it would make it back in time. Did my ballot get there? I’ll never know, but I live in hope that the system has improved since the last general election. Those 2 million votes will be useless if they don’t arrive on time.
Vox populi
For British citizens, this is an extension of suffrage. If you want to exercise your right to vote whether you visit the U.K. regularly, if you’re considering moving back there after retirement or if you’ve not set foot on British soil in decades, you’ve been given the right to have a say if you want it.
In fact, this brings the U.K. in line with the United States — voting rights for all overseas citizens of voting age. And with what promises to be a must-watch presidential election coming up in November, any Americans who have read this far might want to double check their own registration.
Of course, this all raises another issue for foreign residents of Japan. While it’s great to be granted voting rights in your home country, what about the country in which you work, pay your taxes, send your children to school and spend your money?
The U.K. does not allow residents of other nationalities to vote in general elections, though it does make an exception for certain Commonwealth residents and Irish citizens. Japan, meanwhile, does not grant voting rights for general elections to any non-Japanese residents — permanent, long-term or otherwise.
While it’s all well and good having the vote in your own country, it seems fair to want to engage with the political system in the place where you live. To do that in Japan, you would need to obtain Japanese citizenship, and with that — thanks to Japan’s refusal to acknowledge dual citizenship — say goodbye to your previous nationality and any voting rights that go with it.
Which begs the question: Which would you rather have — a vote in your adopted home or a vote in your country of citizenship?
If you offered British expats like myself the chance to vote in a U.K. general election or in a Japanese poll, I wonder which option most of us would choose?
I have to admit, I think I would take the latter. While I am interested in British politics and feel glad to have my say, I do sometimes feel aggrieved when I remember that I can’t engage in the same way in Japan, despite putting the same things into society as anyone else here.
For expats in Japan holding permanent residency with the intention of living in Japan for the rest of their lives, the preference for suffrage is obvious. Many long-term residents and some on shorter visas would likely be glad of the chance to vote, too, as it’s fair to assume that many people want a say in the place where political issues actually affect them.
So will we ever see an extension of voting rights to include non-Japanese?
Probably not, and you likely won’t see permanent residents being given the vote in the U.K. either, for that matter. It’s the reverse of the Conservative Party’s implied overseas voters argument. Just think — would the thousands of newly minted non-Japanese voters really cast their ballots for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party? Given its record on diversity and inclusivity — quite aside from recent scandalous events in the party — it’s doubtful.
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