Korean arrested in Japan on suspicions of Yasukuni bombing

In this Monday, Nov. 23, 2015 file photo, a police officer stands guard Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo following an explosion in its public restroom. Police in Tokyo have arrested a South Korean man suspected of causing an explosion last month at the controversial shrine in Tokyo that honors Japanese war dead. The 27-year-old Jeon Chang-han was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 9 after he returned to Tokyo from South Korea for voluntary questioning, police officials said. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

A Korean man was arrested on suspicions of causing an explosion in a public restroom at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, Japanese media reported Wednesday.

Several Japanese news outlets said that the Metropolitan Police Department (MDP) detained the 27-year-old Korean man, surnamed Jeon, on charges of trespassing on shrine premises, allegedly linking him to the bombing there on Nov. 23.

Jeon landed at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport Wednesday morning. He had earlier visited Tokyo from Nov. 21 to 23. It was not known why he returned to Japan.

The Korean government said that it dispatched a consul to the MPD. “The Korean Embassy in Japan was told that a Korean national was arrested by the Japanese police,” said an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“We will offer consular assistance necessary for this case while observing the investigation results,” he said.

There had been no prior consultation between the two diplomatic parties concerning his reentry to Japan, according to the ministry.

The explosion was heard inside the shrine on the morning of Nov. 23 but no one was injured.

Police said the man was recorded on surveillance cameras after an explosion outside the restroom. The video footage shows that he wore dark clothes, carrying a backpack and a bag, approximately 30 minutes before the blast at the shrine, according to the MPD.

The MPD is investigating the incident based on items such as a digital timer, gunpowder, a bundle of pipes and batteries found near the explosion site.

Fuji News Network (FNN), a commercial TV news station in Japan, said that the MPD has confirmed his DNA matches cigarette butts found in the restroom and in a hotel room where he stayed.

However, Jeon denies the allegations.

The shrine has long been regarded as a source of diplomatic conflict by China and Korea, as Japan’s high-ranking politicians pay homage there. Its honor list includes Class A war criminals added in the late 1970s along with around 2.5 million war dead.

The Japanese media reported that similar incidents have taken place in the past at the controversial site. A Chinese man was suspected of arson in 2011 after allegedly putting gasoline on a gate post at the shrine. Last year, a Japanese man was arrested after an attempted self-immolation on the shrine’s premises.