NHK has learned that a person believed to have been involved in writing graffiti at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo left Japan for China on the day the vandalism was discovered.

The shrine honors Japan's war dead. Those remembered include leaders convicted of war crimes after World War Two.

The graffiti was discovered shortly before 4:00 a.m. on Monday. It appears to have been written in black marker ink on the pillar and its base at the shrine's entrance.

The graffiti included characters resembling the Chinese word for "toilet."

A surveillance camera captured an image of a person who was climbing onto the base on Sunday night.

A message posted on Chinese social media after the incident shows images of a person who appears to be linked to the case and the graffiti.

Investigative sources say it has been confirmed that the person departed from Japan for China on Monday. The sources say the person stayed in Japan for several days before departing.

Police are investigating the case as damaging property.

In May, the same pillar was defaced with red paint. The police have put two Chinese nationals on a wanted list on suspicion of damaging property and desecrating a place of worship. They also left Japan soon after the incident.