The Mito District Court On Wednesday ordered the Mito city government to pay a total of 600,000 yen to two members of the Aum Supreme Truth cult for rejecting their applications to register as residents in December 2001.
The 36-year-old and 54-year-old male cultists had filed a lawsuit demanding 2 million yen in compensation.
Handing down the ruling, presiding Judge Hidemi Senba said the two were emotionally distressed because their application to register as residents was illegally rejected despite their living in the city.
According to the ruling, the two had difficulty leading their lives as they were not able to register their personal seals or renew their driver's licenses because of the rejection by the city government.