Canvassing monk found guilty of trespassing

A Buddhist monk passing out fliers for the Japanese Communist Party was found guilty Tuesday of trespassing by the Tokyo High Court, which overturned a lower court ruling.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20071212a2a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='207'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Yosei Arakawa –

speaks to reporters Tuesday after the Tokyo High Court found him guilty of trespassing in a trial he says was based on the right to free speech. KYODO PHOTO

Last year, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Yosei Arakawa, a priest with the Shinshu Otani Buddhist sect, was within his constitutional rights to pass out the leaflets at a condo complex in Tokyo in 2004, despite ignoring no trespassing signs.