TOKYO — Japanese police arrested a South Korean national for allegedly obstructing the annual spring festival at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, police said. The 64-year-old suspect stood at the main shrine gate and in front of vehicles carrying messengers from the emperor, Kyodo News agency said.

The man held up a banner carrying messages, including one urging "war criminals" to stop praying at Yasukuni Shrine and another making territorial claims on an island disputed between Japan and South Korea. The arrest took place during the shrine's annual spring festival.

The messengers were scheduled to deliver offerings from the emperor, according to the shrine's website. Yasukuni Shrine holds an annual spring festival, and the suspect's actions at the gate and in front of the imperial messengers' vehicles formed the basis of the obstruction allegation, police said.

Yasukuni Shrine honors Japan's 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. The shrine's spring festival is a regular event at which offerings from the emperor are delivered by imperial messengers, the shrine's website said.