The Thursday court ruling on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's 2001 visit to Yasukuni Shrine indicates he may longer be able to continue to be ambiguous about the nature of his contentious visits, many scholars agree.

The Chiba District Court, following the decisions by two other district courts, declared that Koizumi's first visit as prime minister to the Tokyo Shinto shrine in August 2001 was official, given that he signed the visitors' book as the prime minister.

But whether the visit was unconstitutional -- the central issue in an ongoing debate -- remains a topic that deeply divides both the public and legal experts.