AOMORI (TR) – Aomori Prefectural Police have arrested a 29-year-old male national of Myanmar for allegedly spraying graffiti on a scenic area of the Hakkoda Mountains, located south of Aomori city, reports the Sankei Shimbun (Feb. 22).
On January 14, the text “happy birthday” and other messages in English and Chinese were found sprayed in pink paint on two snow-covered trees and 50 square meters of snow near Sanroku Koen Station of the Hakkoda Ropeway.
According to police, the company that manages the ropeway later removed the graffiti.
The suspect, who is employed at a restaurant in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward, has been accused of obstruction of business. “It was my girlfriend’s birthday, and I wanted to celebrate with her,” the suspect told police in admitting to the allegations, according to TV Asahi (Feb. 23).
The Hakkoda Mountains are a part of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park. In response to the incident, the Ministry of the Environment confirmed that it will implement a policy to alert foreign tourists via the distribution of multilingual books at lodging facilities that mention what acts are prohibited in national parks.
