American tourist arrested over defacing of Meiji Shrine torii gate

Tokyo police arrested a 65-year-old American man Wednesday on suspicion of property damage after he allegedly carved letters into the wooden pillar of a torii gate at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward.

The suspect, identified as Steve Lee Hayes, whose address and occupation are unknown, has admitted to the allegations. He reportedly admitted that he “wrote his family members’ names.”