The Supreme Court overturned an earlier high court decision Monday, ruling that the 1986 arrest of a Korean resident in Kyoto over his refusal to be fingerprinted was not illegal.
The top court backed an appeal by the national and Kyoto prefectural governments, which claimed that the arrest of Yon Chang-Yul, a second-generation Korean resident from Kyoto, was justifiable.
Yon, 42, filed a civil lawsuit in May 1986 against the national and prefectural governments and a police officer, seeking 1 million yen in damages over his arrest, which he claimed was unjust and unnecessary.