TOKYO: An American arrested for defacing a sacred Tokyo shrine turned the most recent instance of Japan’s wrestle to deal with misbehaving guests amid a growth in inbound tourism.
Japan welcomed practically 27 million guests by way of September, a document tempo, and their spending added 5.86 trillion yen (US$37.5 billion) to the financial system. However incidents of vandalism, public drunkenness, and “overtourism” at well-liked websites have sparked debate about how one can deal with the flood of tourists and those that flout the principles.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police confirmed the arrest of a 65-year-old American on Wednesday (Nov 13) on suspicion of carving alphabetical characters into the pillar of a torii gate of the Meiji Jingu Shrine on Tuesday.
The suspect and his household arrived in Japan for sightseeing on Monday, the Jiji information service mentioned. Safety digicam footage led police to arrest him at his resort on suspicion of utilizing his fingernail to etch 5 letters representing household names into the wood pillar, Jiji mentioned.
US Embassy employees visited the American and are offering consular help, a spokesperson mentioned, declining to provide additional particulars as a result of privateness issues.
