Dec. 12 (UPI) — Japanese police arrested on Wednesday a man who claimed to be from Hong Kong for allegedly setting a fire at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japanese media reported.
The fire started from a newspaper at about 7 a.m. Wednesday near the entrance of the shrine, a home for the Japanese war dead. It was extinguished shortly after without spreading, according to Mainichi Shimbun.
Tokyo police have arrested the man for illegal trespassing. They are also investigating a woman who was with the man.
The shrine, seen as a symbol of Japanese imperialism, has met with controversies and criticism for honoring convicted war criminals of World War II. Many of the soldiers and civilians killed during WWII are enshrined at Yasukuni.
The South Korean and Chinese governments have often expressed regret over Japanese politicians’ ritual offering to the shrine.
