OSAKA -- The Osaka Municipal Government purged the residence registrations of nearly 2,100 day-laborers Thursday, after concluding through a monthlong investigation that the men did not really live at the three welfare centers where they were registered.
The city's decision was immediately condemned by lawyers and human rights activists, who vowed to sue the city for denying the men their constitutional rights Without a government-recognized residence, the men will be unable to vote in the April 8 municipal elections.
City officials and the homeless met for two hours Thursday afternoon in an attempt to reach a solution to what is rapidly becoming the major political issue in the upcoming election. But the meeting turned acrimonious toward the end, as it became obvious no compromise would be reached.