The co-conspirator who helped a Chinese influencer who wrote “toilet” on a pillar at Yasukuni Shrine and urinated on the structure has been sentenced in a Tokyo court. The verdict marked a sad chapter in the life of a man who told the court how a love for one of Japan’s most beloved cartoons brought him to the country 11 years ago.
Jiang Zhuojun, 29, was sentenced to eight months unsuspended for defacing property and defiling a place of worship in the May 31st incident. Tokyo prosecutors had asked for a one-year sentence.
In court, Jiang said the act was a protest against the release of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, saying he wanted to “protect the ocean.” The issue became a sticking point between China and Japan in the past two years, souring relations between the two countries. At one point, China banned seafood imports from Japan over the issue.
Jiang said he didn’t have any hatred against Yasukuni Shrine itself. The shrine is also a flashpoint in Japan-China relations, as it memorializes 1,068 convicted war criminals from the World War II era, including 14 class-A war criminals.
Prosecutors argued that Jiang played a critical part in the crime by preparing and bringing the spray paint used to deface the shrine. His defense argued that he merely brought the spray and didn’t participate in the crime itself.
The judge ruled that the defendant’s role in the act was significant and justified a guilty verdict. While he didn’t order damages, he refused to grant a suspended sentence, meaning Jiang will serve the eight months.
A guy who loved Doraemon
According to a report by Shueisha Online, Jiang had dreamed of living in Japan for years.
“I loved Doraemon,” he told the court. “I felt that, when I grew up, I wanted to go to Japan. In one Doraemon story, they talk about ‘protecting the ocean.’ I truly love Doraemon. But I don’t know how I feel about Japan now.”
Jiang came to Japan on a student visa in 2013 and has worked here since. His current visa was valid until 2025. (Jiang apparently had an interpreter assigned in court but opted to speak Japanese during his trial.)
Shueisha says Jiang became enraptured by the perpetrator, Dong Guangming, who goes by the name Iron Head on Xiaohongshu or Red, the Chinese version of Instagram. When Dong started ranting about the Fukushima wastewater release, Jiang vowed to help him in any way he could.
Jiang claims he didn’t know exactly what Iron Head and his accomplice had planned and was scared once Japan’s right-wing took up the Yasukuni incident as a talking point.
An arrest warrant is still outstanding for Dong Guangming and another accomplice, Xu Laiyu. Both have apparently returned to China.
During the trial, prosecutors reportedly asked Jiang what he thought about the fact that Japanese police hadn’t caught his co-conspirators.
“I don’t wanna answer that,” he replied with a slight laugh.
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