Kyodo reports that Japan's Supreme Court yesterday ruled that it was unconstitutional for a city government to waive land usage fees for a Confucian temple:
Presiding Justice Naoto Otani, who heads the top court, said the capital city of Okinawa Prefecture's waiver of the land usage fees for the Confucian temple, which sits on a city-run park, infringes Article 20 of the supreme law, which bans municipalities from engaging in religious activities.
"The Naha city government could be judged to be aiding a certain religion," said the ruling made by the top court's Grand Bench.
The Supreme Court also determined that the temple built by a group of descendants of people who had moved from China to Japan in the 14th century is a religious facility and its historical value and significance as a tourist spot cannot warrant free land usage.
