Japan v. Yasuko Nakaya (Gokoku (Shinto) Shrine Case)

42 Minshu 5, 277 (1988)

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Japan v. Yasuko Nakaya (Gokoku (Shinto) Shrine Case)

Japan Supreme Court
42 Minshu 5, 277 (1988)

KS

Facts

Yasuko (plaintiff) and Takafumi Nakaya were married in a nonreligious ceremony in 1959. Yasuko had been previously baptized in Yamaguchi Shin’ai Church of the United Church of Christians in Japan. Takafumi was an officer in the Japan Self-Defense Forces (SDF) and did not believe in any religion. Takafumi later died in a car accident while on military duty. Yasuko attended, as a chief mourner, a funeral with Buddhist rites arranged by the SDF. Yasuko later deposited Takafumi’s ashes in a Christian church. Years later, the local veterans association took steps, with the assistance of the regional SDF liaison office, a Japanese government organ, to enshrine Takafumi at the Gokoku Shrine, which was associated with the Shinto religion. While Takafumi’s remains were not relocated to the shrine, he would be venerated at the site. Yasuko filed a lawsuit for damages against the government of Japan and the veteran group (defendants), arguing that her religious freedom and spiritual peace had been disrupted by the government’s efforts to enshrine her husband’s spirit at the shrine. The trial and appellate courts ruled in Yasuko’s favor. The Japanese government appealed to the Japan Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning ()

Dissent

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