Japan court affirms decision to dismiss war shrine lawsuit against PM News
Japan court affirms decision to dismiss war shrine lawsuit against PM

[JURIST] The Takamatsu High Court in Japan Wednesday upheld a lower court decision [JURIST report] to dismiss a lawsuit against Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over his visits to the Yasukuni shrine [official website]. The shrine was founded in 1869 and serves as a monument to Japan's war dead, including war criminals, a source of diplomatic friction between China and South Korea. Last week the Osaka High Court ruled [JURIST report] that the Prime Minister's visits to a Shinto shrine for the dead [official website] violated the constitutional separation of state and religion. Koizumi insists that his visits are meant to represent his condemnation of war, not glorification [Koizumi press statement]. AFP has more.