A lawsuit was filed Monday against Yasukuni Shrine by 11 South Koreans seeking to have their names or the names of their relatives struck from the list of war dead, saying their inclusion is "an insult" that causes intolerable pain.
It is the first suit filed by South Koreans against the contentious Tokyo shrine instead of against the central government for inappropriate consecration. Three of the plaintiffs also sued the government.
The plaintiffs are each demanding 1 yen in compensation and a public apology from Yasukuni, a private Shinto organization that promoted nationalism during the war. Their lawyers said the redress sought was minimized because the focus of their suit is to have the names of Koreans removed from the shrine.