Homeless man can't use Japan park as address-court

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) A homeless man will no longer be allowed to use a tent pitched in a park as his legal address, a Japanese court said today, overturning a ruling by a lower court that had allowed him to have his mail delivered there.

Yuji Yamauchi, 56, has lived in a tarpaulin tent in a park in the western industrial city of Osaka since 2000, Kyodo news agency said.

''The tent is simply constructed of pieces of wood and tarpaulin.

It can easily be removed and is not fixed to the ground,'' Kyodo news agency quoted the Osaka High Court as saying in its judgement.

''Under the city parks law, it is not permitted for a private individual to use a park as their address.'' Kyodo said the city office had appealed against the original ruling, concerned that it would encourage other homeless people to move into the park.

A government survey in 2003 found there were more than 25,000 homeless in Japan and that more than 40 percent of them lived in parks -- often sparking complaints from other visitors.

Yamauchi, who told the court he faced difficulty joining the public health insurance system and registering as a voter without a legal address, won his case at the district court last year.

He plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, Kyodo said.

''Today's verdict is a great shame,'' said Suzuko Yasue of the Homeless Human Rights Resources Centre in Tokyo. ''It is very difficult to exercise one's rights as a citizen without a registered address,'' she added.

''We want people to be able to register themselves as living in the park and use that as a springboard to return to an independent life,'' she said. ''No one wants to live in a park forever.'' Reuters DKA GC1249