The Osaka High Court on Friday ruled that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visits to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine were “official” acts and “religious activities” done in violation of the Constitution that provides for the separation of state and religion.
But the court rejected damages demands filed by the plaintiffs, some from Taiwan, who said that the state, Koizumi and the Shinto shrine should compensate them for what they say is their mental anguish caused by the visits. The court said the visits did not harm the plaintiffs’ freedom of thought or belief.
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