Man nabbed in severed-finger shrine protest

TOKYO (Reuters) - A member of a Japanese right-wing group was arrested Thursday after he sent his severed little finger to the ruling party's headquarters in protest at Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's failure to visit a Tokyo war shrine.

Abe stayed away from Yasukuni Shrine on the August 15 anniversary of the nation's World War Two surrender, avoiding a slight to those in China and Korea who see the shrine as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.

The 54-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of making threats after he sent his finger to the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters in Tokyo, said a police official in Okayama Prefecture, western Japan.

The envelope also contained a letter of protest and a disk showing images of the man cutting off his finger, the official said.

"I thought they would ignore me if I just sent the letter, so I put my little finger in as well," Kyodo news agency quoted the man as telling police.

Removing part of a finger is a traditional form of punishment or atonement among gangsters in Japan.