Watazumi Shrine on Tsushima Island (Daemado) in Japan has completely prohibited entry for general tourists due to the indiscriminate behavior of foreign visitors. This shrine was previously controversial for banning entry to Koreans last June.
According to reports from various foreign media, including Sankei Shimbun, Watazumi Shrine located in Tsushima City, Nagasaki Prefecture, announced via Facebook on the 23rd that "entry to the premises is prohibited for individuals other than worshipers and visitors."
It further stated, "The sight of Japanese individuals destroying places and objects held dear with no sense of reverence is nothing short of the collapse of Japanese culture."
After inquiries about who qualifies as 'worshipers and visitors,' the shrine clarified, "Anyone with a heart that worships the deity can enter, and photography is allowed," adding, "Conversely, individuals who regard the shrine merely as a theme park or a filming location are not visitors."
Previously, the shrine shared examples on Facebook of Korean tourists engaging in smoking, illegal parking, and verbal abuse. On the 21st, a man was shown in a photo smoking around the shrine with a caption in Korean that read, "A Korean is smoking again. The shrine and surrounding area is a no-smoking zone, so please follow the rules."
On the 22nd, a video was also released showing a person speaking in the Gyeongsang dialect shouting profanities at an employee trying to stop illegal parking. The shrine has installed temporary structures at the parking lot entrance to prevent vehicle access due to this illegal parking problem. The face of the Korean tourist in the video was shown without a mosaic.
On the 23rd, the shrine warned, "Korean tourists are eating bread and drinks from a food truck near the shrine and are throwing trash inside the shrine. The shrine is not here to collect trash."
Tsushima Island is a popular destination for Korean tourists due to its geographic proximity, being about 50 km from Busan. Following COVID-19, there has been a surge in Korean tourist arrivals by boat, leading to repeated disorder and verbal abuse against staff at Watazumi Shrine.
The shrine noted that "staff members are suffering from mental anguish as they cannot tolerate the desecration of this sacred space and are feeling the crisis of managing the shrine due to the ongoing violence and insults," adding, "We will take decisive action to protect the shrine and the hearts of the people."
In this regard, the shrine added that discussions are underway with Tsushima City Hall and the Nagasaki Prefectural Police.
Meanwhile, the shrine noted that in June of last year, it displayed a notice banning entry for Korean tourists along with videos of them smoking inside the shrine. Additionally, entry for Korean tourists was banned even before COVID-19 in 2019.