Koreans lose Yasukuni shrine case

The shrine honours Japan's recent war dead

A group of Koreans who want their dead relatives' names removed from Japan's controversial Yasukuni war shrine have lost their case in a Tokyo court.

The Koreans, whose relatives were drafted into Japan's army while Korea was a Japanese colony, want the names to be removed and to be paid damages.

But the court ruled that the government had been correct to give the names of war dead to the shrine.

The shrine is a major source of tension between Japan and its neighbours.

YASUKUNI SHRINE Built in 1869 to honour victims of the Boshin Civil War Now venerates the souls of 2.5m of Japan's war dead Those enshrined include 14 Class A war criminals Japan's controversial shrine

The 414 plaintiffs in the case complained that their relatives had been wrongly portrayed as supporters of Japan's aggression in Asia.

But the court said the question was whether it was lawful for the government to submit lists of war dead given the constitutional separation of religion and state.

The court said it had been "appropriate" for the government to do so, and therefore rejected the claim.

Yasukuni honours Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including 14 people convicted as war criminals by a 1948 war tribunal.

Japanese politicians' visits to the shrine trigger angry complaints from China and South Korea, who complain that Japan has not done enough to atone for its actions in the lead up to and during World War II.