TOKYO, Dec. 10 (UPI) — Police in Japan say a South Korean man who was arrested in connection with a small explosion at a Shinto shrine first confessed to the crime, but then recanted.
Chon Chang-han, 27, was arrested on Wednesday for entering the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine on Nov. 23 for “unlawful purposes,” Kyodo News reported.
A Japanese investigator who spoke to Kyodo News on the condition of anonymity said Chon flew back to Japan on Wednesday, more than two weeks after the explosion in the shrine’s restroom.
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo was built in 1869 to commemorate all those who’d died in service to the Empire of Japan.
Japan police say Chon admitted to planting the explosive at the shrine, but then later backtracked and denied charges of trespassing at the shrine.
According to Tokyo law enforcement, police found a digital timer and batteries with Korean lettering at the scene of the explosion. But police said it was not clear where Chon had acquired the four metal pipes and explosives for the bomb, South Korean television network SBS reported.
Traces of DNA from a cigarette butt in the restroom were the same as those from items abandoned at a Tokyo hotel room where Chon allegedly stayed in November. Police said they have confiscated Chon’s phone for further analysis.
Chon was captured on CCTV surveillance footage of the shrine’s premises about 30 minutes before the explosion, and investigators said he began planning the attack on Nov. 21, leaving Japan immediately after the incident, on Nov. 23.
The investigation into the explosion is ongoing, and though it is unclear whether Chon was responsible for the bomb, the incident is driving a deep wedge between Tokyo and Seoul.
South Korea Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Joon-hyuk said Seoul has filed an official complaint with Tokyo for exposing the identity of the suspect.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the Japanese government is not involved in the reports.
