Korean man arrested for trying to hang 'Dokdo is our land' banner at Yasukuni Shrine

A South Korean man was arrested on Wednesday for attempting to hang a banner asserting the claim that the Dokdo islets are Korean territory at the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, according to Japanese media.

Kyodo News Agency and NHK reported that the 64-year-old man, surnamed Park, was detained Wednesday morning for allegedly obstructing an annual spring festival held at the shrine that honors the country's war dead, including 14 Class A criminals convicted by the Allies in international tribunals for their activities in World War II.

According to the reports, Park was stopped while trying to display the banner rejecting Japan's territorial claim to the South Korean-administered islets of Dokdo and calling on "war criminals" to stop praying at the shrine. He reportedly staged his protest at the shrine's main gate and in front of vehicles carrying imperial messengers.

Park, who entered Japan on Sunday, told police after his arrest that he had acted intentionally, the reports said.

Located in central Tokyo, Yasukuni Shrine honors some 2.46 million Japanese war dead, including Gen. Hideki Tojo, who was executed in the international tribunal for his leading role in the Pacific War.

Many Koreans were forcibly mobilized into the Imperial Japanese Army during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. About 20,000 Koreans are believed to be enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine.

Visits by Japanese politicians to the shrine regularly draw protests from neighboring countries, including South Korea and China. On Tuesday, the South Korean government expressed "deep regret" after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made a ritual offering at the shrine.