] Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is used to taking heat
] from other countries when he goes to the Yasukuni Shrine,
] a century-old war memorial seen by many Asians as a dark
] reminder of Japan's militaristic past. But he got an
] unprecedented rebuke at home on Wednesday, when a court
] ruled he had violated the constitution when he paid his
] respects at the shrine after taking office three years
] ago.
]
] In Japan, peace activists and others have challenged the
] practice on legal grounds, arguing it violates a
] constitutionally mandated separation of religion and state.
]
] On Wednesday a district court in the western city of
] Fukuoka ruled Koizumi had done just that because he
] was deemed to have visited in his capacity as a public
] official, not a private citizen.
]
] Koizumi used his title when he signed the shrine's
] visitors book and arrived at the grounds in a government
] car.

[ Always interesting to take a look at other country's politics as well as our own... -k]