TOKYO, Japan – An American arrested for defacing a sacred Tokyo shrine became the latest example of Japan’s struggle to cope with misbehaving visitors amid a boom in inbound tourism.

Steve Lee Hayes carved letters onto a pillar of a gate of a shrine in Shibuya and was arrested on suspicion of property damage, Tokyo police said.

American tourist Steve Hayes was arrested on Wednesday ‘on suspicion of damaging property’ at the Meiji Jingu shrine

A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters into a torii gate at a Tokyo shrine.

Tokyo Metropolitan Police allege the man used his fingernails to carve five letters into the pillar of a torii gate at the popular tourist attraction.

Steve Lee Hayes was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of property damage, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police spokesperson told TheJapan Times. Hayes is accused of “carving the alphabet with his fingernails” into the wooden pillar of Meiji shrine gate in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward around 11am on Tuesday, police told the outlet.

A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan for carving letters into a wooden gate at a shrine in Tokyo.

Tokyo authorities arrested a 65-year-old U.S. tourist for allegedly defacing the grate of a local shrine on Tuesday.

An American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters into a pillar of a gate to a shrine in Tokyo.

An American visiting Japan with his family has been arrested on suspicion of vandalism after allegedly desecrating Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu Shrine. According to Reuters, the 65-year-old (identified as Steve Lee Hayes) clawed five letters representing family names into a pillar of the Torii gates with his fingernails.

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,