Osaka Court Goes Other Way; PM's Shrine Visit Unconstitutional

Contradicting a ruling by a Tokyo court the day before (see prior posting), on Friday, according to the Associated Press, the High Court in Osaka, Japan ruled that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's 2004 visits to a Tokyo war shrine violated the constitution's required separation of religion and state. In contrast to the Tokyo court ruling, this court held that the prime minister's act was a public act, not a private one. However, the court rejected the Taiwanese plaintiffs' demands for damages of $88 each.