Tokyo authorities arrested a 65-year-old U.S. tourist for allegedly defacing the gate of a local shrine. Police detained the suspect, identified as Steven Lee Hayes, at his hotel Wednesday afternoon after an investigation into the gate's defacing at the Meiji Shine in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward using video surveillance led authorities to him.

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.

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

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

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).

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.

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