Chinese man held over fire at Tokyo war shrine: reports

A Chinese man suspected of starting a fire inside a Tokyo war shrine at the center of rows with Japan's Asian neighbors was arrested by police on Wednesday, reports said.

The man, 55, allegedly set fire to a pile of newspapers inside the grounds of the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 2.5 million war dead but also enshrines top World War II criminals.

Jiji Press agency and public broadcaster NHK both reported the arrest and said the fire was quickly extinguished, with no reports of any damage or injuries.

The man was arrested on suspicion of trespassing, reports said.

A spokesman for the shrine acknowledged the incident while avoiding further comment as "police are investigating". A Tokyo police spokesman declined to confirm the report.

China’s Embassy in Japan is collecting information regarding the incident from the Japanese side and has asked to visit the man, Foreign Ministry’s consular service department said on its official Weibo account on Wednesday.

Bystanders reportedly said the man had been holding a banner with a message protesting the 1937 Nanjing massacre.

About 300,000 people died in a six-week spree of killing, rape and destruction by the Japanese military that began in December 1937 after invading troops seized the city of Nanjing.