Teenage tourist accused of carving name into 1,200 year-old temple in Japan

A teenager has been questioned by police after he allegedly carved his name into a wooden pillar of an 8th-century Japanese temple.

The 17-year-old from Canada wrote “Julian” on a pillar at the Toshodaiji Kondo - a UNESCO world heritage site - about 170cm above the ground with his nail, officers said.

The letter “J” was also found etched into the pillar, according to local newspaper The Mainichi.

Police said the incident took place in the temple - which is in the city of Nara - last week.

The teenager was later questioned on suspicion of violating the cultural properties protection law in Japan. He will not be detained, but an investigation will continue, police said.

As well as being a World Heritage Site, the monument's Golden Temple is designated as a national treasure.

The alleged vandalism came to light after a Japanese tourist reportedly saw the inscriptions being made and intervened before alerting staff at the temple.

The boy later reportedly said he had no intention of harming Japanese culture.

The Buddhist temple was constructed in the 8th century and was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1998.

It is among eight monuments in the city known as the Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.

The news came weeks after a similar story in Rome where a tourist carved his name into the wall of the Colosseum.

Ivan Dimitrov was filmed seen etching “Ivan + Hayley 23” with a key into the almost 2,000-year-old monument.

The 27-year-old fitness instructor, from Bristol, faces up to five years in prison and a £12,800 (€15,000) fine after being filmed defacing the amphitheatre.

Italian Police later said they had identified Mr Dimitrov as their suspect.

Major Roberto Martina said he had expressed “sincere remorse” for his actions when confronted.