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A Chinese language nationwide residing in Japan has been arrested for allegedly serving to vandalise a controversial shrine in Tokyo, the native police mentioned on Wednesday.
Two others have been positioned on a needed listing for allegedly defacing the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo.
Based in 1869 by Emperor Meiji, the battle shrine honours the deaths of two.5 million Japanese troopers and civilians who died in wars within the 19th and 20th centuries. The shrine is controversial because it additionally honours a number of convicted battle criminals. The controversial battle shrine is seen by Seoul and Beijing as a image of Japanese militarism.
A video exhibiting a person urinating on the stone pillar on the Yasukuni shrine earlier than spray-painting the phrases “bathroom” on it was extensively shared on social media in Japan and led to an enormous outrage.
A person who recognized himself as “Iron Head” criticised the discharge of handled radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear energy plant into the ocean in a video posted to Chinese language social media platform Xiaohongshu in early June.
A Tokyo metropolitan spokesperson mentioned that 29-year-old Jiang Zhuojun, who lives within the north of Tokyo, was arrested “on suspicion of vandalism and disrespect for a spot of worship”.
The incident reportedly occurred on 31 Could at about 9.55pm native time.
Police mentioned that the opposite two Chinese language males – recognized as Dong Guangming, 36, and Xu Laiyu, 25 – have been each positioned on a needed listing.
However the spokesperson mentioned the duo appeared to have left the nation.
Based on The Japan Occasions, Mr Jiang and Mr Dong allegedly spray-painted the shrine pillar on 31 Could whereas Mr Xu filmed them.
Mr Dong earlier informed Japanese broadcaster TBS that he admits to the vandalism however won’t report back to the police, as his actions have been a protest in opposition to Japan’s launch of handled wastewater from the broken Fukushima nuclear plant.
Yasukuni shrine, in a press release emailed to the Related Press, mentioned the graffiti was “extraordinarily regrettable” and known as it “an act of degrading the dignity of the shrine”.
Japan began to launch multiple million metric tonnes of handled radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant, sufficient to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming swimming pools, into the ocean, final yr.
The Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company (IAEA) authorized the plan in July final yr, saying that it met worldwide requirements and that the impression it might have on individuals and the surroundings was “negligible”.
Based on the Tokyo metropolitan police division’s public safety bureau, the harm to the Yasukuni shrine is estimated at 4.2 million yen ($26,000).
Mr Dong is suspected of being the principle perpetrator, whereas Mr Xu is alleged to have filmed the act.
Authorities ministers nonetheless recurrently pay homage at Yasukuni shrine, infuriating China, South Korea, and others. Nevertheless, no prime minister has visited since Shinzo Abe did in 2013, in accordance with The Japan Occasions.
In April this yr, South Korea expressed “deep disappointment” following Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida’s ritual providing to the Yasukuni Shrine. Mr Kishida and a few cupboard members despatched ritual choices to the shrine on Sunday, Yonhap information company reported, citing Japanese media.
With out instantly mentioning the Japanese chief, the South Korean overseas ministry mentioned that it regrets the Japanese chief’s go to and providing to the shrine “which glorifies Japan’s battle of aggression and enshrines battle criminals”.
In the meantime, “Iron Head” is thought on Chinese language social media for movies accusing stall homeowners of doubtful gross sales practices. His content material was not too long ago faraway from the web after he documented his experiences soliciting intercourse, in accordance with the Australian Broadcasting Company.
He has since returned to China and informed a Japanese journalist that he has no cause to mirror on his behaviour. The report mentioned that the vandalism he dedicated on the Yasukuni shrine has been favourably obtained on Chinese language social media, though many are sceptical of his motives.
