A Japanese high court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling rejecting a claim by some 450 citizens that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in 2013 violated the constitutional separation of state and religion.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Toru Odan of the Tokyo High Court said the prime minister's visit to the shrine did not interfere with the faith of the plaintiffs or violate their religious freedom, and dismissed the plaintiffs' compensation demand.

The judge also said Abe's statement released following the visit can be regarded as an expression of remorse for the past and pledge renouncing war.

The plaintiffs maintained that Abe's visit to the shrine, which honors convicted war criminals along with millions of war dead, has heightened international tensions and infringed their right to live their lives peacefully. They are planning to appeal the ruling.

Chieko Seki, an 86-year-old plaintiff, told a press conference that the ruling was too considerate of the circumstances surrounding the Abe government.

Yasukuni Shrine is often seen as a symbol of Japan's militarist past by neighboring countries, and visits by Japanese leaders have riled those that suffered under Japanese occupation or colonialism before and during World War II.

In a separate lawsuit over the prime minister's 2013 visit to the shrine, the Supreme Court rejected a damages claim by families of war dead and others in December 2017, upholding lower court rulings that it did not interfere with other people's beliefs or lives.

Japanese lawmakers visit war-linked Yasukuni Shrine

Abe sends ritual offering to Yasukuni for shrine's autumn festival