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Korean Man Arrested for Bombing of Japanese War Shrine


A police officer patrols around the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo after an explosion went off, Nov. 24, 2015.
A police officer patrols around the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo after an explosion went off, Nov. 24, 2015.

A South Korean man has been arrested in connection with an explosion in a public restroom at Japan's controversial Yasukuni Shrine last month.

Police say 27-year-old Jeon Chang-han was detained Wednesday after he arrived in Tokyo from South Korea. So far, he has been charged with entering the shrine for unlawful purposes.

Investigators say the suspect was caught on a security camera at the shrine shortly before the November 23 blast. Police found a digital timer and pipes believed to be filled with explosive materials in the restroom where the blast occurred. Despite the presence of more than 100 people visiting the shrine for a religious festival, no one was hurt in the explosion.

Jeon arrived in Tokyo two days before blast, and returned to South Korea on the afternoon of November 23rd.

Yasukuni Shrine honors more than two million dead Japanese soldiers, as well as several senior military and political figures convicted and executed of war crimes. Regular visits to the shrine by many high-ranking Japanese government officials visit anger Beijing and Seoul, whose countries suffered under Japan's brutal military aggression during the first half of the 20th century.

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