Hundreds of copies of Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl have been mysteriously defaced at public libraries across Tokyo.
Pages have been ripped from at least 265 copies of the diary and other related books - with many having specific extracts torn out.
It is unknown why the books about the young Holocaust victim, who wrote her diary while she and her family hid from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam during World War Two, are being targeted.
Japanese police are investigating, but say the motive behind the widespread damage is unclear.
Today, Japan's chief cabinet secretary, Yoshihide Suga, called the vandalism "shameful" - claiming that the country would not tolerate such acts.
"Books related to Miss Anne Frank are being clearly targeted, and it is happening across Tokyo. It is outrageous," Mitsujiro Ikeda, an official in Nakano, said.
The Simon Wiesenthal Centre, a global Jewish human rights organisation, said in a statement that it was shocked by the incidents, and called for the authorities to investigate.
"The geographic scope of these incidents strongly suggest an organised effort to denigrate the memory of the most famous of the 1.5 million Jewish children murdered by the Nazis in the World War Two Holocaust," associate dean Abraham Cooper said.
"Anne Frank is studied and revered by millions of Japanese," Mr Cooper added. "Only people imbued with bigotry and hatred would seek to destroy Anne's historic words of courage, hope and love in the face of impending doom."