The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld two lower court rulings that Oita Gov. Morihiko Hiramatsu and two other officials did not violate the Constitution by using public funds to attend a Shinto rite related to the 1990 enthronement of Emperor Akihito.
The governor, along with the then vice governor of Oita and the head of the prefectural agricultural department, attended a Shinto rite in the town of Kusu in which new rice crops were harvested to be used in another Shinto rite, known as "Daijosai."
Daijosai rites are Imperial ceremonies related to the Imperial "Sokui-no-rei" enthronement ceremony.