Holiday Ayo - A 61-year-old Austrian man was arrested by police last month on charges of disrespecting a place of worship.

He committed lewd acts at a temple in Japan. The man had sex with his acquaintance, a Japanese woman in her 40s.

According to local police, the couple was caught having sex on August 22, 2024 on the grounds of a temple in Kesennuma.

The shrine is in a small coastal town about 500 kilometers north of Tokyo. Quoting CNN, committing disgraceful or lewd acts in temple areas is a violation of social norms, like places of worship in general.

Therefore, both of them faced accusations of disrespecting places of worship. Police told CNN they arrested the man, fearing he could escape.

However, the police did not arrest the female Japanese partner after concluding there was no risk of flight.

The man has now been released from custody, but police said they could not reveal details of his sentence. Police said that cases like this do not always end in forced return or deportation.

Usually, they are only charged a fine. Although cases like this are rare, there have been several examples of people being arrested for disrespecting Japanese shrines.

Last year, a 17-year-old Canadian was taken in for questioning for allegedly scratching the name "Julian" with his nails on a wooden pillar at a UNESCO-listed temple in the historic city of Nara, local police told CNN at the time.

"The teenage boy admitted his actions and said that his actions were not intended to harm Japanese culture. He is now with his parents, who were with him when the incident occurred," police said.

Meanwhile in 2010, renowned photographer Ishin Shinoyama was charged with public indecency and disrespect for places of worship when he allegedly took nude photos at a public cemetery.