American tourist arrested in Japan for defacing a religious shrine by carving into gate with his fingernails

A 65-year-old American tourer has been arrested successful Japan aft being accused of vandalizing a shrine.

Steve Lee Hayes was arrested Wednesday connected suspicion of spot damage, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police spokesperson told TheJapan Times.

Hayes is accused of “carving the alphabet with his fingernails” into the woody pillar of Meiji shrine gross successful Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward astir 11am connected Tuesday, constabulary told the outlet.

The 65-year-old admitted helium “wrote his household members’ names” connected the pillar, the outlet reported.

The incidental occurred during the tourist’s household travel to Japan. It’s not instantly wide if his household was with him erstwhile helium allegedly carved their names into the shrine.

Investigators were capable to way down Hayes from surveillance footage and helium was detained astatine his edifice successful Tokyo, the outlet noted.

Hayes faces up to 3 years successful situation oregon a good of up to 300,000 yen ($1,900) for the alleged vandalism, CNN reported.

The Meiji shrine is simply a Shinto shrine that “was established successful 1920, to commemorate the virtuousness of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who took the inaugural to marque a instauration of modernized Japan,” according to its website.

Torii gates are often recovered astatine the entranceway to Shinto shrines that symbolize the modulation from the mundane satellite to the sacred.

The incidental comes arsenic a surge of tourists person visited Japan successful 2024; much than 24 cardinal tourists person traveled to the state from January done August this year, according to Japan National Tourism Organization.