TOKYO (Reuters) – 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.
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.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of a 65-year-old American on Wednesday on suspicion of carving alphabetical characters into the pillar of a torii gate of the Meiji Jingu Shrine on Tuesday.
The suspect and his family arrived in Japan for sightseeing on Monday, 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.
The case follows two incidents this year of graffiti scrawled on a pillar at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine that is affiliated with Japan’s wartime past. Police obtained arrest warrants for three Chinese nationals as suspects, according to the Asahi newspaper.
In October, a Chilean fitness influencer sparked outrage for posting a video of her doing pull-ups on a torii gate in Japan. She later deleted the video and posted an apology.
Flocks of tourists have forced authorities to take drastic measures to curb overcrowding and litter. In May, a small town near Mt. Fuji erected a barrier to block a view of Japan’s sacred mountain that had become viral online. Mountain park rangers this summer enacted trail fees and entry limits for the first time to curb overuse.
And in October, Tokyo’s Shibuya district covered up its iconic dog statue Hachiko and enforced bans on drinking in the streets to prevent overcrowding and mischief during Halloween.
($1 = 156.3800 yen)