Japan high court nixes claim that PM Abe's Yasukuni visit was unconstitutional

A Japanese high court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling rejecting a claim by some 450 citizens that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in 2013 violated the constitutional separation of state and religion.In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Toru Odan of the Tokyo High Court said the prime minister's visit to the shrine did not interfere with the faith of the plaintiffs or violate their religious freedom, and dismissed the plaintiffs' compensation demand.The judge also said Abe's statement released following the visit can be regarded as an expres…READ FULL ARTICLE