Residents of Kamakura in Kanagawa Prefecture, a popular tourist destination famous for its many temples and shrines, have been unsettled by the appearance of unauthorized graffiti in at least four locations.

Graffiti is not unusual, even in Kamakura. For example, you can see past examples of graffiti on the website of the "Society for the Beautification of Kamakura." However, whereas the content of graffiti is often unintelligible to residents, the meaning of the recent graffiti in Kamakura was very clear:

The letter "Z," now recognized as an indication of support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, was scrawled in white spray paint, including once near the entrance to Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine, a place where many people pass by and one of the city's most popular tourist destinations.

The symbol was also found scrawled on distribution boards operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company in the vicinity of Kamakura Station.

According to a report in FNN, comments from residents included: "This is a tourist attraction so it's scary to put something associated with war here," "It makes me angry," and "It's unpleasant and kind of distressing."

The chairman of the Society for the Beautification of Kamakura expressed anger, saying the letter Z "has a bad association with it. I was very angry that someone would do such a thing in the midst of this tragic situation."

According to TEPCO, the 'Z' graffiti found on its distribution panels will be erased by the end of the month.

At the time of writing, the person or persons responsible for these incidents and their motives remain unclear.