Warrant Issued for Young Chinese National over Graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine; Suspected of Writing ‘Toilet’ in Chinese

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:19 JST, November 21, 2024

The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department on Thursday obtained an arrest warrant for a 14-year-old boy of Chinese nationality on suspicion of destruction of property and disrespect for a place of worship.

The boy has already left Japan, the police said.

According to investigative sources, the boy is suspected of writing characters with the meaning “toilet” in Chinese along with English letters using a black felt-tip pen on a stone pillar and pedestal near the entrance to the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine at around 10 p.m. on Aug. 18. Immediately after the incident, he posted an image of the graffitied stone pillar on his social media account. The boy emerged as the suspect due to security camera footage of the area.

The boy came to Japan a few days before the incident with a woman who is believed to be his relative. After the incident, he returned to the hotel where he was staying in Shinjuku Ward and left Japan the following day. The police believes that the boy wrote the graffiti alone.