BEIJING - A Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that China's memorial to a Korean, who assassinated a prominent Japanese colonial official a century ago, is justified and reasonable.

Spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a regular press briefing.

Ahn Jung Geun shot dead Hirobumi Ito, who had served as the prime minister of Japan four times before becoming resident-general of Korea in 1905, at Harbin railway station on October 26, 1909.

China on Sunday unveiled the memorial hall at the railway station in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

Japan has branded Ahn a terrorist. Japanese chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference on Monday that Japan would protest the move through diplomatic channels.

Hong said Ahn is a renowned anti-Japanese activist and has been respected by the Chinese people.

The construction of the memorial hall is in line with China's domestic law and regulation, he said, adding that the move is justified and reasonable.

"China does not accept the so-called protest by the Japanese side," said Hong.