Actor faces boycott after visit to notorious Yasukuni Shrine

The China Association of Performing Arts has called for a boycott of Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan after photos of him taken at Tokyo's notorious Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's past militarism, spread online, sparking outrage among netizens.

"Zhang's behavior was seriously inappropriate, and it not only hurt the nation's feelings, but also served as a bad influence on young fans," the association said in a notice issued Sunday.

The Sina Weibo micro-blogging platform closed the actor's personal and studio accounts on Sunday.