Crime French artist detained for defacing election poster

A 41-year-old French national, who identifies as an artist, was arrested by Kyoto Prefectural Police on 30 October for allegedly vandalizing an election poster. The man is suspected of drawing facial hair on the poster of a candidate running in the recent House of Representatives election. He has reportedly confessed to the crime.

Will he now be fined and extradited??

The man is accused of defacing the poster on a campaign board in Kyoto's Nakagyo Ward at around 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 21 by drawing facial hair around the candidate's mouth. A police officer found the graffiti on the poster and checked security camera footage, among other methods, to uncover the suspect. According to Nakagyo Police Station, the man is believed to have similarly defaced other campaign posters, and the police will investigate any further crimes.

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Crimes??

That's ridiculous. I'm pretty sure I didn't even know it was illegal to do that. People routinely draw moustaches on election posters in countries like Belgium and France. Being imprisoned or deported for that would be another serious blow to democracy and freedom in Japan.

I don't know what the law says, but I'm sure he'll get away with a warning. I've been tempted repeatedly to "embellish" some of the candidates' campaign posters in our neighbourhood but then realised that would be a severe blow to public order and harmony.



It's "property destruction". See below.

I have asked chat GPT if there was any developed country in which drawing facial hairs on election poster could result in imprisonment. Here is the answer.

"Yes, in some developed countries, defacing election posters could potentially lead to imprisonment, though this is rare and would typically involve more severe or repeated acts of vandalism. Here are a few examples:

1. Germany: Defacing election materials is considered property damage, and if the damage is significant, fines or even short jail sentences might apply. Imprisonment would likely only happen in cases of repeated offenses or if there is substantial financial harm.

2. Japan: Japan has strict rules around elections. Vandalizing election posters can be taken very seriously and may lead to fines or imprisonment, especially if the intent is to harm a candidate's reputation.

3. United States: In the U.S., tampering with election materials can lead to jail time, though it depends on the state and the nature of the defacement. In cases where it could be seen as voter intimidation or an attempt to influence election results, it may be treated more severely.

In most developed countries, though, imprisonment would be a last resort, usually reserved for cases where someone is persistently damaging public or election-related property or causing serious disruption."

So it looks like Japan is the only developed country that takes this so seriously.