American tourist arrested in Japan for defacing a religious shrine by carving into gate with his fingernails

The 65-year-old reportedly admitted he ‘wrote his family members’ names’ on the wooden pillar

A photo of the Meiji shrine (left) and a close-up of the markings etched onto one of its wooden pillars (AFP/Getty)

A 65-year-old American tourist has been arrested in Japan after being accused of vandalizing a shrine.

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.

The 65-year-old admitted he “wrote his family members’ names” on the pillar, the outlet reported.

The incident occurred during the tourist’s family trip to Japan. It’s not immediately clear if his family was with him when he allegedly carved their names into the shrine.

Scratches are seen on a Torii gate at Meiji shrine in Tokyo on November 14, 2024. A 65-year-old American tourist was arrested for allegedly etching letters onto a traditional wooden gate at a Tokyo shrine, police said (AFP/Getty)

Investigators were able to track down Hayes from surveillance footage and he was detained at his hotel in Tokyo, the outlet noted.

Hayes faces up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 300,000 yen ($1,900) for the alleged vandalism, CNN reported.

The Meiji shrine is a Shinto shrine that “was established in 1920, to commemorate the virtue of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken who took the initiative to make a foundation of modernized Japan,” according to its website.

People walk past a Torii gate at Meiji shrine in Tokyo. The shrine was established in 1920 (AFP/Getty)

Torii gates are often found at the entrance to Shinto shrines that symbolize the transition from the everyday world to the sacred.

The incident comes as a surge of tourists have visited Japan in 2024; more than 24 million tourists have traveled to the country from January through August this year, according to Japan National Tourism Organization.