A monument in the city of Miyazaki built to glorify Imperial Japan's occupation of Asian nations and later rededicated as the city's Peace Tower has been a source of local discomfort for decades.
In 1965, authorities restored an Imperial-era slogan on the 36-meter stone tower, despite opposition from critics who felt it sent the wrong message.
The four-character phrase is "Hakko Ichiu" (Eight Corners of the World Under One Roof). The slogan was used by the Imperial Japanese military as it sought to create "a new world of human fraternity under the Japanese emperor."