Meiji Shrine, a Shinto shrine in Tokyo dedicated to Emperor Meiji and his consort Empress Shoken, was found to have been vandalized on November 10.

According to police, kanji characters and multiple scratches were etched into one of the torii gates with a sharp object.

Meiji Shrine officials said that the etchings were not previously there when checks were last conducted in June.

Police are investigating the matter as a case of property damage.

Meiji Shrine is a 100-year-old shrine that stands is the middle of a forest created through the donation of 100,000 trees from across Japan.

The shrine located right next to Harajuku Station is one of the most visited shrines in Japan by both locals and foreign tourists.

New Year’s regularly welcomes over 3 million worshippers for the first prayer of the year.

At Yasukuni Shrine, a shrine dedicated to fallen soldiers also located in Tokyo, an elementary school student reported graffiti to the police on November 11.

The character for “death” was written on a stone fence on the premises of the shrine.

Police found similar graffiti on another fence nearby.