The Tokyo Metropolitan Government formally adopted a set of policy guidelines May 16 to launch a local council of foreign residents to reflect their opinions in administrative policies concerning the foreign community in the capital.
The metropolitan government will begin accepting applications from non-Japanese residents in Tokyo for council membership sometime before fall. The council's first meeting is expected to be held in late October or early November, metropolitan officials said.
Registered foreign residents 18 years or older who have lived in Tokyo for one year or longer are eligible to apply, they said.