Photo/Illutration Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward remains a controversial site and has been vandalized twice this year. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Police obtained an arrest warrant on Nov. 21 for a Chinese teenager in connection with vandalization committed at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo this summer.

The boy, who is suspected of property damage and desecrating a place of worship, has already left the country.

The suspect allegedly scrawled the Chinese characters for “toilet” on a stone pillar at the entrance of the war memorial at around 10 p.m. on Aug. 18.

The letters “SB” were also written on the foundation of the pillar bearing the shrine’s name.

Surveillance footage captured the boy climbing onto the pillar alone.

According to investigators, the suspect arrived in Japan a few days before the incident and stayed in the capital. He was traveling with one other person they believe is a family member.

He returned to his hotel after the incident and flew from Haneda Airport to Hong Kong the following morning.

A selfie of the suspect and photos of the graffiti were subsequently shared on Chinese social media.

Previously, police obtained arrest warrants for three Chinese nationals in connection to a similar vandalism case at the shrine in May. Two of the suspects are still at large.

The Shinto shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals from World War II along with the nation’s war dead, is often seen by China and other Asian countries as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism.

(This article was written by Hiromichi Fujita and Hiraku Higa.)

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