Japanese police have arrested an elderly man, who was trying to “curse” Russian President Vladimir Putin by one of the popular methods.
Officers at Matsudo Higashi Police Station in central Japan announced that they had arrested Mitsunobu Hino, 72, on suspicion of hanging a straw effigy from a sacred tree at a shrine, with a picture resembling Putin’s face on its face.
This act is considered a traditional form of “cursing” the person represented by the doll, according to ancient Japanese beliefs.
Several security cameras in the vicinity caught a person resembling Hino near the shrine, which led to his arrest, the Japanese newspaper Asahi confirmed.
Since mid-May, about 10 similar incidents have been discovered at various shrines in Matsudo, and police are investigating any links with the Hino case.