A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly defacing a wooden gate at a shrine in Tokyo, according to local police.
Steve Lee Hayes has reportedly admitted to writing “his family member’s names” on the pillar of a torii gate at the Meiji Shrine in the Shibuya ward of Tokyo on Tuesday, the Japan Times reported.
Torii gates, structures found at the entrance of Shinto shrines across Japan, symbolize the transition from the mundane to the sacred. The Meiji Shrine was established in 1920 in honor of Emperor Meiji, Japan’s 112nd emperor who ascended to the throne in 1867, and his wife Empress Shoken.
The alleged incident occurred just after 11 a.m. on Tuesday. According to the police’s international crime division, the American, whose address and occupation have not been disclosed, used his fingernails to etch five letters into one of the gates.
Investigators used security camera footage to arrest Hayes, who arrived in Japan with his family on Monday. He was detained at his Tokyo hotel two days later on suspicion of property damage.
It was not immediately clear if Hayes remained in custody on Thursday.
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