The Australian embassy in Japan has issued a warning to travellers to behave respectfully after an Instagrammer drank offerings from a Japanese burial site, sparking widespread anger online.
In the latest example of fame-seeking foreigners upsetting locals, Lochie Jones, reportedly an Australian tourist, posted a video of himself gulping from a can placed on a headstone as an offering.
Moments earlier, he is seen flipping a coin to decide whether to open the beverage, which was likely left as a gift for ancestors in a common Japanese tradition. He is then seen burping in front of the grave.
The video, posted last month, prompted angry comments online.
One user on X wrote: “Graveyards are sacred places in any country… I want (the government) to ensure he can never enter Japan again.”
On Tuesday, the Australian embassy warned on Facebook that travellers must demonstrate “appropriate behaviour” while visiting Japan, although it did not explicitly mention the video.
The embassy, which did not respond to AFP’s request for comment, said on Facebook that it “works closely with Japanese authorities to ensure that travellers from Australia respect and observe local laws and rules.”
Jones issued an apology for the incident in an Instagram video on Tuesday.
This incident follows other cases of inappropriate behaviour by foreigners in Japan.
In 2023, a YouTuber with 2.4 million subscribers, known as Fidias, posted a video of himself and three others free-riding around Japan before later apologising.
A month earlier, Japanese police arrested a US livestreamer known as Johnny Somali for allegedly trespassing onto a construction site.
According to video footage, Ismael Ramsey Khalid, 23, wore a facemask and repeatedly shouted “Fukushima” to construction workers who urged him to leave the site, police officer Genta Hayashi told AFP, referring to the site of the stricken nuclear power plant.
Another clip shows Khalid, who describes himself as a former child soldier, harassing train passengers with references to the US atomic bombings of Japan in 1945.
Japan is currently experiencing an unprecedented surge in tourism, but some residents have grown frustrated with unruly behaviour.
Last year, a town near Mount Fuji installed a large barrier to discourage photo-taking at a popular viewpoint beside a convenience store, after visitors increasingly stepped into the road to get the perfect shot.
The “Japanese first” Sanseito party, which has tapped into growing concerns over over-tourism and immigration, made strong gains in the upper house election earlier this year.