YOKOHAMA — The Yokohama District Court on Wednesday ordered Yokohama's Naka Ward to process a moving-in document submitted by a priest in the AUM Shinrikyo cult. The court found the action illegal and ordered the city to pay the man 8,000 yen in compensation. Presiding Judge Tamio Okamitsu said he found no reason to justify the ward's refusal.
The man demanded the court acknowledge the illegality of the ward's action and wanted 1 million yen in compensation. According to the verdict, the 41-year-old priest moved into an AUM facility in the ward on July 30, 2001, and submitted a document to the ward the following day. But the ward's resident-registry section refused to process it, telling him it would look into his move. (Kyodo News)