Buddhist statue stolen from Japanese temple returned from South Korea

A 14th-century Buddhist statue of the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was stolen from Japan’s Kannonji temple in 2012. File picture: Kyodo News/AP

A 14th century Korean Buddhist statue stolen from a Japanese temple nearly 13 years ago has been returned after a long legal battle between Japan and South Korea over its ownership that had further strained sensitive ties between the two Asian neighbours.

Dozens of temple members and local residents standing by the roadside applauded to welcome the statue as a truck carrying a wooden container with it arrived at Kannonji, a temple on Japan’s western island of Tsushima.