US man arrested for vandalizing Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine

Friday at 12:41 PM

STORY: :: TV Tokyo

:: An American man is arrested on

suspicion of vandalizing Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine

:: Tokyo, Japan

:: November 14, 2024

:: File

:: Police say the 65-year-old used his fingernail

to etch letters into a wooden pillar

Japan welcomed nearly 27 million visitors through September, a record pace, and their spending added 5.86 trillion yen ($37.5 billion) to the economy. But incidents of vandalism, public drunkenness, and “overtourism” at popular sites have sparked debate about how to handle the flood of visitors and those who flout the rules.

The suspect and his family arrived in Japan for sightseeing on Monday (November 11), the Jiji news service said. Security camera footage led police to arrest him at his hotel on suspicion of using his fingernail to etch five letters representing family names into the wooden pillar, Jiji said.

U.S. Embassy staff visited the American and are providing consular assistance, a spokesperson said, declining to give further details due to privacy concerns.

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