Japanese police are searching for suspects in connection with the spraying of graffiti on a controversial war shrine

TOKYO — TOKYO (AP) — Japanese police are searching for suspects in connection with the spray-painting of the word “toilet” on a Tokyo shrine dedicated to the country’s wartime soldiers, in an apparent protest against the ongoing release of treated radioactive wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, news reports said Monday.

The red graffiti sprayed on a stone pillar at the entrance to the Yasukuni Shrine was discovered early Saturday morning. In a video posted on Chinese social media, a man claiming to be Iron Head criticized the discharge of wastewater from the damaged nuclear power plant into the sea. In another video taken at night, he is seen apparently urinating on the pillar and then writing the English word “toilet” with a spray can.

According to Japanese media, including public broadcaster NHK and Kyodo news agency, Tokyo police are investigating two suspects: the person seen in the video and another person who filmed the video. Police believe the incident occurred late Friday after the shrine closed and that the perpetrator is believed to have already left Japan, they said.

Police declined to confirm the reports.

The discharge of waste water from the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant is being opposed by fishermen’s associations and neighboring countries, especially China, which imposed an import ban on Japanese seafood immediately after the discharge began in August last year. The ban has particularly affected Japanese scallop farmers and exporters to China.

The Yasukuni Shrine is dedicated to the approximately 2.5 million Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals. Victims of Japanese aggression in the first half of the 20th century, especially China and Korea, see the shrine as a symbol of Japanese militarism. The countries criticize visits by Japanese MPs to the shrine as a sign of their lack of remorse for Japan’s war actions.

The spray-painted graffiti was covered with a tarp over the weekend, but appeared to have been cleaned up on Monday.