A Tokyo court on Wednesday sentenced a Chinese national living in Japan to eight months in prison over his involvement in a May graffiti incident at the capital’s war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.
Jiang Zhuojun, 29, was on trial at the Tokyo District Court on charges of damaging property and disrespecting a place of worship.
According to the ruling, he and two other Chinese men vandalised a stone pillar at the controversial shrine by spray-painting the word “toilet” on it on May 31.
Prosecutors had sought a one-year sentence.
In handing down the ruling, Judge Yasushi Fuke said Jiang had played a crucial role by buying the spray paint and that it is “unforgivable to turn to illegal actions to express one’s views”.
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Japan hunts for man seen on Chinese social media spray-painting ‘toilet’ on Yasukuni Shrine
Japan hunts for man seen on Chinese social media spray-painting ‘toilet’ on Yasukuni Shrine
The court deemed imprisonment appropriate, citing a lack of reparations for the damage.