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The 8th-century Toshodaiji Kondo temple complex in Nara is a Unesco World Heritage site.
A Canadian teenager has been questioned by police after he reportedly carved a name into the wooden pillar of an historic Japanese temple.
The 17-year-old allegedly used his fingernail to carve ‘Julian’ into the 8th-century Toshodaiji Kondo temple complex in Nara.
He was spotted by another tourist who reported him to temple staff.
A monk at the temple told Japanese newspaper The Mainichi that even though it had been done “without malice”, that it was “still regrettable and sad”.
It’s reported he is with his parents, who were with him at the time of the alleged vandalisation.
The BBC reports that under Japanese law, any person who has damaged an object of “important cultural property” could face up to five years in prison. There is also a possible fine of ¥300,000 (NZ$3416).
The incident at the Unesco World Heritage site follows a UK-based man who was caught carving names into the wall at the Colosseum in Rome.
Ivan Dimitrov, 27, provoked anger in Italy after he was filmed writing ‘Ivan + Hayley 23’ into the wall of the 2000-year-old site last month.
The Bulgarian fitness trainer has since written in the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that he sincerely regrets his actions.
“It is with deep embarrassment that only after what regrettably happened did I learn of the antiquity of the monument,” wrote Dimitrov.
It is the fourth time this year that such graffiti has been reported at the Colosseum, reported AP.
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