A 65-year-old American vacationer has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters right into a torii gate at a Tokyo shrine.
The suspect, Steve Lee Hayes, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of property harm, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police spokesperson advised CNN.
Police stated the person allegedly defaced the pillar of a shrine gate in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on Tuesday, “carving the alphabet together with his fingernails.”
In keeping with public broadcaster NHK, 5 letters – believed to be the vacationer’s household identify – had been allegedly etched right into a gate pillar at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine.
Police reportedly recognized the suspect by reviewing safety digicam footage and have launched an investigation.
Positioned adjoining to the town’s sprawling Yoyogi Park, Meiji Shrine first opened in 1920 and was devoted to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The advanced was destroyed throughout World Warfare II however rebuilt within the Nineteen Fifties.
A closeup picture of scratches on a torii gate at Meiji Shrine, taken on November 14, 2024. – Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Photos
Entrances to the shrine function big wood gates, generally known as torii, that are topped with distinct curved beams.
The suspect, who was visiting Japan together with his household, faces as much as three years in jail or a advantageous of as much as 300,000 yen ($1,918) for the alleged vandalism.
The arrest is the newest in a string of tourist-related incidents to make headlines as Japan experiences document customer numbers.
Earlier this yr, a small city on the base of Mount Fuji gained worldwide consideration for blocking views of the famed icon with a black barrier after it was overrun with photo-hungry vacationers. In keeping with a few of the city’s residents, the guests left behind trash and ignored visitors guidelines, regardless of the presence of indicators and safety guards.
In September, native police advised CNN a 61-year-old Austrian man was arrested for having intercourse on the grounds of a shrine in Kesennuma — a small coastal city about 500 kilometers (310 miles) north of Tokyo — and confronted expenses of disrespecting a spot of worship.
In the meantime, in 2023, a 17-year-old Canadian was introduced in for questioning for allegedly carving a reputation right into a wood pillar at a UNESCO-listed temple within the historic metropolis of Nara, Japan, based on native police.
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