Investigative sources say a surveillance camera at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo captured the image of a person at a stone pillar hours before graffiti was found there.
The shrine honors Japan’s war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after World War Two.
A shrine staff member found the graffiti shortly before 4:00 a.m. on Monday. It appears to have been written in black marker ink in three spots on the pillar and three at its base. The pillar is near the main entrance and has the shrine’s name inscribed.
Police say the graffiti included characters resembling the Chinese word for “toilet,” along with several letters of the Latin alphabet.
The police are investigating the case on suspicion of damage to property.
The sources say the camera caught a suspicious person climbing onto the pillar’s base on Sunday night. An image of the graffiti has been posted on Chinese social media accompanied by a message saying “leaving Japan.”
The police are investigating whether the same person or people are responsible for both the post and the graffiti.
In May, the same pillar was defaced with red paint. The police have put two Chinese nationals on a wanted list on suspicion of damaging property and desecrating a place of worship.