A South Korean man arrested in connection with a suspected bombing at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo late last month admitted to police that he set explosives at the compound, but later denied doing so, Japanese investigative sources said Thursday.
Chon Chang-han, 27, who was arrested Wednesday on the technical grounds of entering a premises for unlawful purposes, now denies having set an explosive device at the shrine's public restroom, which apparently failed to activate although people who were there at the time heard the sound of an explosion.
The police will continue their investigation, believing the man intended to cause an explosion at the Shinto shrine, viewed by neighboring Asian countries as a symbol of Japan's militarist past.