A controversial shrine which honours Japan’s war dead – including convicted war criminals – has been vandalised for the second time this year.

A stone pillar at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo was found with “toilet” written on it in Chinese on Monday, according to Japanese media.

It comes after a stone pillar at the site was spray-painted red in May, with a Chinese suspect arrested the following month.

Yasukuni honours 2.5 million people who have died in conflict, including Japan’s former prime minister and convicted war criminal Hideki Tojo.

South Korea, a Japanese colony for 35 years, and China, which was invaded by Japan, see the shrine as a symbol of militarism, while its supporters say it commemorates all the war dead and not only those blamed for waging war on neighbours.

“It is deplorable that an act seeking to denigrate the shrine’s dignity has happened again,” the shrine said in a statement.

The shrine itself, a dramatic-looking building with sweeping roofs, also includes memorials and museums dedicated to kamikaze pilots.

Many members of the Japanese public go there to pray for their family members and friends, regardless of their political views.

Every year on 15 August, the anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the Second World War, there is close scrutiny of which Japanese politicians visit Yasukuni to pray for the war dead.

This year, some politicians, including defence minister Minoru Kihara, controversially prayed at the shrine – a move China’s foreign ministry condemned.

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“The actions of some Japanese dignitaries regarding the Yasukuni shrine once again reflect the wrong attitude of the Japanese side toward the issue of history,” China’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Japanese authorities say an investigation into the latest vandalism is ongoing. The maximum penalty for property damage is three years in prison and a 300,000 yen (about £1,500) fine.

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