Separation of Church and State  In most modern democracies there is a strict separation of Church and State. This is the case in Japan just as in the United States of France. The constitution states “No religious organization shall receive any privileges from the State, nor exercise any political authority” and bans the use of public money on any religious institution. [1] Lawmakers, and in particular cabinet ministers, visiting the Yasukuni shrine break this principle. [2] The constitutionality of visits has been challenged before and was ruled to be in violation of article 20 of the constitution (quoted above) by the Osaka High Court in September 2005. [3] Clearly no state should have senior members of the executive regularly breaking its own constitution.  [1] ‘The Constitution of Japan’, Prime Minister of Japan and His Cabinet, 3 November 1946,   [2] EDITORIAL ‘Lawmakers must respect constitutional separation of religion and state’, The Asahi Shimbun, 13 August 2013,   [3] ‘Koizumi’s Yasukuni trips are ruled unconstitutional’, The Japan Times, 1 October 2005,