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

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Tokyo police arrested an American tourist accused of defacing one of the city’s holiest shrines. Steve Lee Hayes, 65 was detained and has confessed to carving his family name into the wooden pillar of a torii gate at the Meiji Shrine, police said. He allegedly used his fingernails to carve it.

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.

A 65-year-old U.S. citizen was detained by Japanese police on charges of damaging the wooden torii gate of one of Tokyo's most visited shrines, Meiji Jingu. Officers arrested the American tourist on Thursday,

TOKYO (TR) – Tokyo Metropolitan Police arrested a 65-year-old American tourist for allegedly defacing a torii gate of Meiji Shrine in Shibuya Ward earlier this week. On Tuesday morning, Steven Lee Hayes allegedly carved his family’s names onto the wood gate with his fingernails. Police believe it was done as a prank, reports NHK (Nov. 14).

Steve Lee Hayes had carved letters onto a pillar of a gate of a shrine in Shibuya and was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of property damage, Tokyo Metropolitan Police said.

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

American tourist Steve Hayes was arrested on Wednesday ‘on suspicion of damaging property’ at the Meiji Jingu shrine

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