Stolen 14th-century Buddha statue returned to Japan after 12 years

A 14th-century Buddhist statue stolen 12 years ago and taken to South Korea was returned to a Japanese temple Monday, ending a dispute that had contributed to bilateral friction, local media reported.

The statue of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, owned by Kannon Temple on Tsushima Island in the southwestern Japanese prefecture of Nagasaki, was stolen in October 2012, Kyodo News Agency reported, citing unnamed sources.

The artifact, designated as a cultural asset by the prefecture, was handed over in South Korea to people representing the Japanese temple on Saturday.

The statue is expected to be stored at a museum after a ceremony at the temple.

South Korean authorities arrested the thieves and confiscated the statue, but in 2016, Buseoksa Temple in the country filed a lawsuit claiming that the statue had been plundered by Japanese pirates hundreds of years ago.

However, in 2023, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in favor of Kannon Temple's ownership, and the return procedures were completed in January this year.