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Korean arrested in Japan on suspicions of Yasukuni bombing

December 9, 2015
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 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)

TOKYO/SEOUL (Yonhap) — Japanese police arrested a South Korean man for a suspected bombing in a public restroom at a Tokyo war shrine last month, local media reported Wednesday.

The 27-year-old suspect, identified only by his surname Chon, was caught on a security camera installed at the Yasukuni Shrine about 30 minutes before the incident on Nov. 23, police said.

He was arrested shortly after voluntarily returning to Tokyo by plane earlier in the day.

South Korean authorities said they are trying to figure out the details of the situation.

“The government plans to provide him with the necessary consular services, keeping a close eye on the results of the Japanese side,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

South Korea has already dispatched a consular official to the police station where Chon is in detention, it added.

Japanese police formally informed the South Korean Embassy in Tokyo of his arrest Wednesday morning, according to the ministry.

DNA tests on cigarette butts found in the restroom and his hotel room matched, according to the Fuji News Network, a commercial television news network in Japan.

Still, the suspect in the Yasukuni bombing denied his involvement, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.

The Kyodo News agency reported that the man allegedly checked the site before placing what is believed to be an explosive device on the following day, citing the Metropolitan Police Department.

An explosion was heard inside the shrine on the morning of Nov. 23. Police found a digital timer and a bundle of pipes presumed to be carrying explosives in the restroom at the shrine.

Chon arrived in Japan on Nov. 21, two days before the incident took place. He returned home on Nov. 23, the date of the alleged bombing incident.

South Korea and China view the Yasukuni Shrine — which honors over 2.4 million war dead, including 14 convicted Class-A war criminals — as a symbol of Japan’s past imperialism.

Many South Koreans still harbor deep resentment against Japan over its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

The Yasukuni case, however, will likely only have a limited impact on Seoul-Tokyo ties, observers said.

“It’s an isolated case,” a diplomatic source said. “It won’t become a diplomatic problem.”

A car carrying a Korean man who was arrested with regard to an explosion that occurred at the Yasukuni Shrine enters the grounds of a police station in Tokyo, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

A car carrying a Korean man who was arrested with regard to an explosion that occurred at the
Yasukuni Shrine enters the grounds of a police station in Tokyo, Wednesday. (Yonhap)

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