TOKYO (Sputnik) – An explosion was heard Monday at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine for the war dead, regarded as a symbol of Japan’s past militarism by other Asian nations, local media reported.
More than 100 police officers, firefighters and shrine officials gathered near the explosion site, Kyodo news agency reported.
Nobody was injured in the explosion that damaged the ceiling and a wall of a public bathroom at the shrine complex, according to the media. Police reportedly suspect that it could have been a politically motivated attack.
Yasukuni honors Japanese war criminals along with 2.4 million war dead. Visits to the controversial shrine by Japanese politicians have sparked protests from China and South Korea in connection with the memories of Japanese occupation and colonialism before and during World War II.
