Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a South Korean man, Chun
Chang-han, with suspect of building intrusion on Wednesday. Chun was suspected
to have involved in a blast in public toilet in Yasukuni Shrine, which is a
center of historical dispute between Japan and neighbor nations, especially China
and South Korea. While most people embrace a doubt that Chun might have
attempted to offend the controversial war shrine, police has not announced any
connection with ideological background of the suspect.
It was November 23rd when visitors heard a sound
of explosion from public toilet close to south gate of Yasukuni Shrine. Police
found metallic pipe in the ceiling, dry cell batteries with Hangul letters left
on the floor and digital timer with electric cable. Police seems to suspect
that those remains are some parts of time bomb with connection between the pipe
and lead.
Police found a suspicious man recorded in footage of
security camera in the shrine, who looked to be a Korean. He entered Japan a
day before the incident and got back to South Korea the day blast occurred. When
he reentered Japan through Haneda Airport in Wednesday morning, police followed
Chun and arrested him in Kojimachi Police Station, where investigation
headquarters was placed. The suspect was intrusion into the shrine without
right purpose.
Chun explained that he came to Japan to review the place of
blast after Japanese journalist asked him questions on the issue. Asahi Shimbun
reported that he might have worried about the suspicion on him, after he
realized on it when a journalist with Nippon Television Network Corporation
interviewed him.
It is possible that negative sentiment against each other
will spread in both nations of the Japanese and Koreans. The right wing
movement in Japan might indentify Korean travelers to Japan to be potential
terrorists. South Korean people will respond with fundamental anger, if
Japanese police deals with the issue in an excessive way. Careful investigation
based on actual facts is needed.
Japanese government has been raising alert against
terrorism, especially after the simultaneous terrorisms in Paris shocked the
world. One terroristic behavior can ignite broad nationalism against neighbor
nations. Both Japanese and South Korean government have to keep communication
not to bring nationalism on this issue too much. Unfortunately, the top leaders
do not have close relationship to implement that requirement.
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