Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine, often seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, had its main wooden gate set on fire early Monday in a suspected arson attack, a shrine official said.
A small fire scorched the "Gate of gods," which stands about 13 meters tall and 28 meters wide, at around 4 a.m., the official said.
The gate, built in 1934 and adorned with huge gold-leaf chrysanthemums on both portals, was not seriously damaged as a shrine security guard quickly put the blaze out, she said.
"We believe it was arson because our security footage shows somebody spraying liquid on the gate before the fire started," she said. (Japan Today)
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