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

An American tourist was arrested for vandalism at a historic shrine in Tokyo a day after arriving in the country on vacation with his family.

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

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

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 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.

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).

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

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

An American tourist has been arrested in Japan for allegedly carving letters into a pillar of a gate to a shrine in Tokyo.