Japanese police have arrested a 65-year-old American tourist for allegedly defacing a Tokyo shrine. The man, identified as Steve Hayes, is accused of using his fingernails to scratch five letters into a torii gate at the Meiji Jingu shrine on Tuesday morning.

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.

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.

The arrest of an American tourist for defacing a revered Tokyo shrine has highlighted a growing challenge for Japan, a country renowned for its politeness and reverence for tradition, now grappling with a surge in foreign tourists who sometimes disregard local customs and laws.

Suspect Steve Lee Hayes, 65, allegedly carved letters into the wooden pillar of one of the shrine's torii gates.

A 65-year-old US tourist was arrested for allegedly etching letters onto a traditional wooden gate at a Tokyo shrine, police said Thursday. | TAG24

Police said Wednesday they have arrested a 65-year-old American male for allegedly defacing Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo earlier this

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

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