Canadian Tourist Vandalizes 1200-Year-Old Japanese Temple
Incident happened weeks after a tourist carved names into Roman Colosseum
A Canadian teenager was allegedly caught vandalizing a UNESCO World Heritage site in Japan and is being questioned by the police over the violation.
The 17-year-old tourist wrote ‘Julian’ on the pillar of Toshodaiji Kondo, a Buddhist temple that was constructed in the 8th century. It is around 1259 years ago and is said to be one of the eight monuments situated in the city of Nara. Historians suggest that during the 8th Century, Buddhist temples were not only places for religious training but for learning in general.
Staff at this Buddhist temple, which consists of the national treasure Golden Temple, were alerted of the alleged vandalism by a Japanese tourist who was a witness to the act. The Canadian boy has since stated he had no intention of harming the temple or hurting the cultural stance of the Japanese people.
According to the police, the teenager has not been detained but is being held in an investigation for the violation of the cultural property protection law in Japan.
What happened in Nara follows a similar event that took place in Italy recently where a tourist was caught carving names into the Colosseum in Rome. While that U.K resident had since apologized, he still faces a fine of $15,000 and 5 years in prison.
