Japanese police arrest Korean over shrine bombing

Yasukuni Shrine / Yonhap

Japanese police have arrested Wednesday a South Korean man suspected of a bombing at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Yonhap reported.

The man, 27, and identified only by the surname Jeon, returned to Tokyo voluntarily on Wednesday from South Korea. He has denied involvement in the bombing.

Japanese police informed told the South Korean embassy in Tokyo of the arrest. and Seoul has dispatched sent a consular official to the police station where Jeon is being held.

Police said a surveillance camera at the shrine photographed the a man at the time of the incident on Nov. 23.

After the explosion in a restroom, police found a digital timer and a bundle of pipes presumed to be carrying explosives.

DNA tests on cigarette butts found at the site and in the man’s hotel room allegedly match, according to Japan’s Fuji News Network.

The Yasukuni Shrine honors more than 2.4 million war dead, including 14 Class-A war criminals. South Korea and China regard it as a symbol of Japan’s past imperialism.