NARA (TR) – Nara Prefectural Police have arrested a 39-year-old Taiwanese television host for allegedly pouring liquid on a designated National Treasure at Yakushiji Temple in Nara City earlier this year, reports Nippon News Network (June 24).
Tsai Yi-chen, who describes herself as a former actress and current TV personality in Taiwan, was taken into custody on August 22 upon arriving at Kansai International Airport. She was sent to prosecutors on Monday.
The incident occurred in April. Tsai is accused of pouring glycerin — a substance commonly used in cosmetics — over the “Bussokuseki,” a sacred stone bearing the footprints of Buddha, which is housed inside the temple’s Great Lecture Hall.
Upon her arrest, Tsai admitted to the allegations, offering a bizarre justification for the vandalism.
“I perform rituals by pouring oil on things that deeply move me, so I believe I poured oil on the Bussokuseki,” Tsai told investigators. She added that she was visiting Nara with her family at the time and committed the act to pray for “family health and world peace.”
Police identified Tsai through the analysis of security camera footage from the temple grounds. According to investigators, Tsai regularly performs these oil-pouring rituals and was carrying a bottle of ritual oil at the time she was apprehended at the airport.
Authorities are now looking into the possibility of further vandalism, as Tsai reportedly told police she has “done similar acts at other locations in Japan in the past.”
Police are continuing to investigate the full extent of her activities during previous visits to the country.
