TOKYO (TR) – Police in Meguro Ward have arrested a 20-year-old restaurant employee after he allegedly spray-painted a wall under elevated train tracks just weeks after local high school students had scrubbed it clean, reports TBS News (May 12).
Eiji Matsuura is accused of using black spray paint to deface a section of the wall beneath the Tokyu Toyoko Line in the Kami-Meguro area on February 22.
Upon his arrest on suspicion of property damage, Matsuura admitted to the allegations. “I drank alcohol and got carried away,” he told investigators. “I copied the style of a famous person. I also did graffiti in Shimokitazawa and Shibuya.”
The vandalism occurred at a site notorious for repeated tagging. In January, students from local Meguro Gakuin High School teamed up with Tokyu Railways staff in a community effort to completely remove the graffiti from the exact same location.
According to investigative sources, security camera footage captured Matsuura spraying the wall for approximately five minutes.
The arrest may be just the beginning of a wider probe. As of January, the Meguro Police Station had confirmed approximately 350 graffiti tags on utility poles and electrical boxes within its jurisdiction.
Investigators are now questioning three other individuals who were at the scene with Matsuura to determine if the group is linked to the broader wave of vandalism.
