OSAKA (Kyodo) The Osaka District Court ruled Friday that a homeless man should be registered as a resident of a public park in Osaka's Kita Ward because that is where he lives.
According to the court, Yuji Yamauchi, 55, who has been living in a tent in Ogimachi Park since around 1998, attempted to register his address as the park with the ward office in March 2004.
But the office rejected the registration, saying it is not acceptable to set up a private facility -- the tent -- in a public park and that it could not register the park as the man's address.
Presiding Judge Tomoichiro Nishikawa said in his ruling, "The location of the tent can be considered the residence (of the man) as stated in the law on residential registration, and the city must accept the notification," overturning the ward's rejection of the registration.
Nishikawa said the residence should be determined based on whether a location serves as a person's domicile, regardless of whether the person has legal title to the land on which he lives.
"I'm surprised and happy because I did not think I could win," Yamauchi said after hearing the verdict.
"If the ruling is finalized, I plan on applying for welfare," he said.
Yamauchi's lawyer said a person cannot exercise the right to vote or receive welfare, including pension and health insurance, without a residential registration, which means he cannot lead a decent life as a citizen.
"I expect the ward to follow the ruling without appealing," lawyer Yasuhisa Nagashima said.
Kita Ward Mayor Takumi Murata said the ward will decide on a course of action after reviewing the ruling.