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In Japan, bad behavior by foreign tourists sparks outrage and ‘who would do this?’ There is a debate going on.

Harry November 18, 2024

foreign nationals Japan It has begun to receive negative attention in recent months, sparking outrage on social media for what many perceive as disrespectful and ignorant behavior.

The list of crimes is long: an American tourist 60s arrested for graffiti At Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu shrine; Four Sri Lankans were questioned in connection with the theft of 220 cars; A Chinese woman was accused of running an illegal brothel; A British man was linked to a theft worth 13 million yen (US$83,200); and a Chilean woman was filmed doing pull-ups at the “torii” gate of a temple.

The growing backlash against these misbehaviors is coming not only from the Japanese public, but also from long-time foreign residents who worry that these incidents could lead locals to view all foreigners as troublemakers, jeopardizing the livelihoods and relationships they have established in their adopted country. .

Scratches appear on the torii gate at the Meiji shrine in Tokyo, in the latest example of bad behavior by visitors in Japan. Photo: AFP

“I was outraged when I read about American tourists graffitiing Meiji Jingu,” said Eric Fior, a French national who owns an educational business in Yokohama and has lived in Japan for 25 years.

“One of the reasons I chose to stay here is the history and culture around us. Then we hear about a tourist doing this in one of Japan’s most famous and important temples,” he told This Week in Asia. . “Who would do such a thing?”

Disbelief spread social media Many foreign citizens are demanding that 65-year-old Steve Hayes, an American citizen arrested for shrine vandalism, be punished for an action he told police was a “joke”.

“I don’t know about other long-time non-Japanese residents, but people like Steve make me deeply embarrassed as I shake my head in disbelief,” said one user on the Japan Today website.