Osaka High Court rules Yasukuni Shrine visits unconstitutional

I was walking to my favorite restaurant for lunch when I was temporarily blocked by an ongoing parade. I couldn't make out what was being celebrated, as all of the banners were Japanese brand names and all of the costumed characters were brand mascots. A multinational business conference? How to market products to even younger children? A red Power Ranger-looking guy--face mask and all--handed Sogo (a national Japanese department store chain) balloons to toddlers while various candy brands' mascots shook their booties to a band playing various jingles. I knew Japanese cities were bastions of crass consumerism, but wow.

I pressed onward and--what was it now?--noticed a large group of suits screaming into megaphones. A large megaphone was attached to the roof of a sedan, and the shouter was driving around the block. Another great feature of Japanese cities is the tendency of neo-nationalist proto-fascist groups to ride around daily in their cars shouting praises to the emperor and curses to Russia, China, and both Koreas. (They tend to refer to the unsigned WWII treaty between the USSR and Japan, according a coworker; I've heard them reference the Russo-Japanese War.) This was different, however. Rarely do the two-bit LaRouchies leave their cars. They were out in droves harrassing shoppers for their signatures on petitions. (Of course they didn't bother me, as they are neo-nationalists.) I approached them, however, and realized what was at stake: yesterday's Osaka High Court ruling contradicting an earlier ruling by the Tokyo High Court. The Japan Times reports that the ruling involves the separation of shrine and state, and that Koizumi is not permitted to visit religious sites in his official capacity. While the Prime Minister claims that he does not represent the state when he undertakes these visits, he has consistently represented them in interviews in this capacity in the past, and he has signed the guestbook as "Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro." The ruling comes at a time of both national and international outcry over these visits, including an August protest in Tokyo in which police assaulted the non-violent protesters with wooden batons and arrested six.