Introduction

The "principle of separation of church and state" places a certain limit on the relationship between the state and religion.

Some people may have heard about this principle, which was adopted as a result of reflection on prewar history, in classes such as Japanese history or civics, or may have studied case law in law school.

However, I think there are few people who feel that this is something they can relate to.

This lawsuit aims to protect the principle of separation of church and state by prosecuting acts that violate it, and to prevent the suppression or coercion of individual religion, thought, or conscience.

Overview of the case

The Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture visited the memorial service at Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine as part of his official duties and used public funds.

The Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture visits the Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine every spring and autumn as part of his official duties, using public funds to pay his respects at the Grand Memorial Ceremony. Official visits by the Governor and other officials are made twice a year, with four people attending each time. Last year, the transportation cost for the spring visit was 990 yen.

Like Yasukuni Shrine, Gokoku Shrine is a shrine that enshrines people who are said to have died for the nation (the Emperor), and before the war it was a religious military facility that supported State Shinto, a system that linked the state and religion and supported the militaristic system.

The fact that he visited the shrine on official business, that is, as a representative of the local government rather than as a private citizen, is a violation of the principle of separation of church and state.

Furthermore, if we look at other prefectures, there are some that do not visit Gokoku Shrines, citing the violation of the principle of separation of church and state.

In fact, in a nationwide survey conducted by the plaintiffs in 2021, 39 prefectures with Gokoku Shrines responded, of which 32 had not visited the shrines, and of those, 7 prefectures cited suspected violations of the Constitution as the reason for not visiting despite requests to do so.

Meanwhile, in Yamaguchi Prefecture, despite repeated requests from the prefecture's residents to stop official visits to the shrine, official visits are continuing on the grounds that there has been no court ruling that visits to Gokoku Shrine are unconstitutional.

▲Report on the results of a nationwide survey on official visits to shrines conducted by the plaintiff in 2021.

The history of the lawsuit: the history of the fight for religious freedom

The lawsuit against the above-mentioned actions of the Governor of Yamaguchi Prefecture was filed following a history of struggle for religious freedom that began with a previous lawsuit.

The lawsuit in question was the Yamaguchi Self-Defense Forces Enshrinement Refusal Lawsuit (hereinafter referred to as the "Enshrinement Refusal Lawsuit"), which was filed in 1973.

The lawsuit over the refusal to enshrine was a trial that questioned whether it was unconstitutional and illegal for Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine and the Self-Defense Forces to conspire to enshrine Yasuko Nakatani, the wife of a Self-Defense Force member who died in the line of duty, despite her refusal.

In this lawsuit, Nakatani's religious personality rights were recognized in the first and second trials, and she won, but in 1988 the Supreme Court overturned the case and she lost, and Nakatani's husband remained enshrined there.

The Supreme Court ruled against the plaintiffs on the grounds that 1) the act of joint enshrinement was not considered an act of the state, and 2) awarding compensation for the discomfort caused by the infringement of one's religious life would infringe on the other party's freedom of religion, and therefore the plaintiffs should be "tolerant" of the other bereaved families and Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine who wanted joint enshrinement.

Following this unjust Supreme Court ruling, the "I Don't Want to Be Enshrined: Association for Minority Human Rights" (hereinafter referred to as "Association for Minorities") was established. Aiming to realize freedom of thought and conscience (Article 19 of the Constitution) and freedom of religion (Article 20 of the Constitution), the Association for Minorities has been holding a "Protest Rally Against the Unjust Supreme Court Ruling in the Lawsuit to Refuse to Enshrine Self-Defense Force Personnel" every year around the date of the Supreme Court ruling, and has been working to demand the withdrawal of the enshrinement. In recent years, the Association has also been monitoring and correcting various violations of freedom of belief.

Nakatani's fight was to argue that Yamaguchi Prefecture's enshrinement of her husband at Gokoku Shrine was an infringement of the individual's freedom of religion by the state (a claim that was not accepted by the Supreme Court).

The Yamaguchi Prefectural Governor's official visit to the shrine could also infringe on the religious freedom of individuals in that it is an overstepping of the state's relationship with religion.In addition, the object of the visit is a heroic spirit and war god enshrined by Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine, including Nakatani's husband.

Therefore, the governor's official visit to the shrine trampled on Nakatani's struggle and the feelings of the "Seek Group," which has continued to work with Nakatani to demand the removal of the enshrinement, and this was something the plaintiffs could not ignore.

▲News from the National Liaison Committee for the Lawsuit Against the Enshrinement of Self-Defense Forces Personnel, September 21, 1982

The plaintiffs took action to stop the official visits, including submitting a letter of request to the governor to stop the visits, but when the governor did not stop the visits, they decided to file a lawsuit.

What the plaintiff wants to achieve through this lawsuit

Through this lawsuit, we hope to inform people of the true nature of Gokoku Shrine and Yasukuni Shrine, and provide them with an opportunity to consider their own inner freedom, thereby enabling each individual to regain their sense of self, which will ultimately lead to the correction of the widespread infringement of inner freedom, and to become ``citizens'' who have ``trust in the fairness and faith of the peace-loving peoples of the world'' as proclaimed in the preamble to the Constitution.

Specifically, it means liberation of those who are held captive by Yasukuni Shrine and Gokoku Shrine due to the constraints of "war heroes" and "surviving families," and more broadly, correction of the practice of collecting shrine fees by local residents' associations, which continues to this day, and correction of the state of civil servants who prioritize work orders over laws and regulations. Furthermore, to put it a little more dramatically, it means the realization of liberation of those who are held captive in a world where success and possessions are considered the highest values.

Previous litigation

Differences from recent lawsuits and the significance of this lawsuit

Lawsuits challenging the principle of separation of church and state have been filed in the past, with unconstitutional rulings issued in the Ehime Tamagushiryo lawsuit, the Sorachi Taisha Shrine incident, and the Confucius Temple lawsuit.

Through these lawsuits, checks have been put on actions by national and local governments that violate the principle of separation of church and state, and an appropriate distance has been maintained.

The most recent lawsuits regarding the separation of religion and state include the lawsuit regarding the unconstitutionality of Prime Minister Abe's visit to Yasukuni Shrine, the lawsuit regarding the unconstitutionality of the enthronement and Daijosai ceremony regarding the succession of the Emperor, and the lawsuit regarding the unconstitutionality of the Sukida.These lawsuits are being fought hard due to two obstacles: first, the barrier of the interests that have been infringed; that is, the courts do not recognize that administrative actions are not only in violation of the Constitution or the law, but also that the actions have caused the individual physical and mental harm, and second, the barrier of precedent; that is, the fact that there are almost no previous cases in which individual rights have been found to have been infringed due to a violation of the separation of religion and state.

On the other hand, one way to question the illegality of administrative actions is through a citizen lawsuit, which questions the illegality of the use of local government funds, and in this case it is possible to go beyond the barrier of infringed interests.

This time, the following conditions were met: "Residents can file a lawsuit," "there is no previous court case in which the unconstitutionality of a similar act has been challenged," and "there is a high possibility that the court will rule it unconstitutional in light of past rulings on the separation of church and state." Therefore, we decided to file the lawsuit, believing it to be an effective lawsuit for establishing freedom of belief.

How donations will be used

① Transportation expenses for witnesses, etc.: 100,000 yen ② Fees for written opinions: 200,000 yen ③ Attorney's fees: 500,000 yen ④ Other (related to the lawsuit): 200,000 yen

Total 1 million yen

The above is a rough budget estimate for the first instance (Yamaguchi District Court). We intend to set new goals for the appeal hearing (Hiroshima High Court). Since the plaintiff is a Yamaguchi Prefecture resident, we would be grateful if we could also budget for travel expenses subsidies for the plaintiff in the appeal hearing.

However, before that, I would like to use the funds to support lawyers and, if possible, organize a legal team. Therefore, I will prioritize raising funds for this purpose.

Plaintiff's thoughts

Of the eight plaintiffs, I (Obata Taisaku) will write about myself.

Ever since I was a child, I have had doubts and rebelled against the various things that were forced upon me by my school and community. I continued to seek freedom, and after many twists and turns, I found my way in Christianity and became a pastor in 1997.

I came to Yamaguchi Prefecture in 2003, and met Yasuko Nakatani and other former plaintiffs in the Yamaguchi Self-Defense Force Enshrinement Refusal Lawsuit (hereinafter referred to as the "Enshrinement Refusal Lawsuit") at the Japan Foundation. I learned about their struggle for freedom and became involved. Since 2023, I have been serving as the representative and secretariat of the "Motokurukai" (We Want to Seek Relief) which continues the lawsuit.

The fundamental human rights of freedom of religion (Article 20 of the Constitution) and freedom of thought and conscience (Article 19 of the Constitution) were established as a reflection on the war of aggression that this country once waged, and any act that violates these rights is a violation of fundamental human rights and a violation of the Constitution.

Furthermore, violating it would mean affirming past wars of aggression.

Yasukuni Shrine, like Gokoku Shrine, justifies and glorifies the wars of aggression of the past. Therefore, visits to Yasukuni Shrine by Diet members have been met with protests from countries that were once invaded. However, most Japanese people turn a blind eye to the actions of their representatives. As a result, this act has also undermined the trust placed in the Japanese people by the international community.

▲ "Vice Admiral Ugaki Matome, who is enshrined as a heroic spirit at Yasukuni Shrine, died on the evening of August 15th, after the "Gyokuon-hoso" broadcast, saying, 'I believe in the immortality of the Divine Lands, and although it is unfortunate, I order you to accompany me,' taking his subordinates with him as he took off in a suicide plane from the Oita Naval Airfield towards Okinawa. The photo shows a memorial monument erected on the approach to Okayama Prefecture Gokoku Shrine, which enshrines the young men who died in this way (photographed by Namba Yukiya)."

▲Governor Yamaguchi's speech at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Gokoku Shrine Memorial Service. He repeatedly honors the war victims by calling them "war heroes."

Distrust breeds more distrust, which eventually leads to hostility. The result is the unrelenting militarization of our country.

However, I repeat that most Japanese people remain largely uninterested in the visits to Yasukuni Shrine by members of the Diet who claim to justify and glorify the past war of aggression.

This state of affairs is also reflected in the court's decisions on several lawsuits regarding the separation of church and state that have been filed in the past and continue to be filed today.

I believe that realizing freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is what leads to true peace. In fact, war can only be waged if these freedoms are restricted.

Agent's comment

In Yamaguchi Prefecture, despite requests from the prefecture's residents to refrain from official visits to Gokoku Shrine, a prefectural official made a visit on the grounds that there had been no court ruling that visits to the shrine were unconstitutional, leading to a lawsuit by residents.

Yamaguchi Prefecture's thinking that it is okay to go ahead with this because there has been no court ruling that it is clearly illegal should be corrected, and I accepted this lawsuit in the hope that it would serve as one opportunity to make that happen.

Attorney in charge

Hitomi Tagawa (Fukuoka Bar Association, Peace Law Firm, Moji Chuo Law Office)

Shingo Uchiyama (Yamaguchi Bar Association, Yamaguchi Daiichi Law Office)

Toichiro Sawafuji (Tokyo Bar Association, Toichiro Sawafuji Law Office)

Shunichi Ishiguchi (Hiroshima Bar Association, Shunichi Ishiguchi Law Office)

Hiroshi Kashima (Kashima & Tanaka Law Office, Osaka Bar Association)

Mitsutaka Nakajima (Sapporo Bar Association, Mitsutaka Nakajima Law Office)

Toru Noritake (Okayama Bar Association, Okayama Joint Law Office)

Conclusion

Your support will be a great help to the plaintiffs and their attorneys in continuing their work.

The violation of our inner freedom is invisible and difficult to understand, and we may become accustomed to it, but by the time we notice it, it is too late. Let us change the path of war to the path of peace.