A court in northern Japan on Friday ruled against the removal by police officers of hecklers from the site of a 2019 stump speech by then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Sapporo.The Sapporo District Court ordered the Hokkaido government to pay a total of 880,000 yen ($7,200) to two citizens, saying the police action infringed the freedom of expression guaranteed under the Constitution.The plaintiffs, Masae Osugi, 34, and Kio Momoi, 26, had demanded a total of 6.6 million yen in compensation.Presiding Judge Takashi Hirose said the situation was not life-threatening or posing a risk of physical …READ FULL ARTICLE