CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Although I am among those who wish that the Yasukuni Shrine controversy be put to rest quick- ly, I realize that the solution must come from inside Japan when conditions mature. Those with some distance from the emotional core of the issue may wish to ponder the new dynamic that the controversy has assumed since the Fukuoka District Court ruled April 7 that the prime minister's visits to the shrine are unconstitutional. Perhaps a Supreme Court ruling to settle the matter is becoming a definite priority.
How can the highest court put off such an important issue after making a pronouncement on the related but lesser issue of a Shinto groundbreaking for a gymnasium back in 1977?
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's bewilderment over the characterization of his "visits to the shrine based on [his] personal belief" as unconstitutional deserves some respect. Yet this brings us to more sensitive parameters that are manifest not only in Japan but also internationally: How do we define the borderline between the "private" and "formal" actions of a top elected official?