Osaka, April 12 (IANS): A citizens' group in Japan's Osaka has filed a lawsuit with the Osaka District Court claiming that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's controversial visit last December to the Yasukuni shrine has violated their constitutional right to "live in peace", local media said.

The suit seeks damages of 10,000 yen (about $100) for each of its 540 members and an injunction forbidding Abe from making any further visits to the shrine, Xinhua reported.

The plaintiffs for the case argue Abe's visit glorifies a soldier's death and qualifies as an act of preparation for war, thereby threatening the lives and freedom of the Japanese people.

Abe visited Yasukuni Dec 26 last year and made an offering of flowers in his official capacity as prime minister. The shrine was a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism as 14 class-A war criminals were enshrined there.

Abe's visit to the shrine drew strong criticism from neighboring countries, such as China and South Korea, which suffered a lot due to Japan's brutal aggression into the two countries during the World War II.