Tokyo: The Australian embassy in Japan has issued a warning to travellers to behave themselves after an Instagrammer drank offerings from a Japanese burial site, provoking widespread anger online.
In the most recent example of fame-seeking foreigners riling locals, Lochie Jones – reportedly an Australian tourist – posted a clip of himself swigging from a can placed on a headstone as an offering.
Instagram user Lochie Jones films himself drinking an offering at a Japanese cemetery.Credit: Instagram
Moments earlier, he’s seen flipping a coin to decide whether to open the beverage, probably left as a gift for ancestors in a gesture common in Japan.
He’s then seen burping in front of the grave, before saying “cheers, cobber” and leaving cigarettes where the drink had been.
The video – which was posted last month – prompted angry comments online.
“Graveyards are sacred places in any country … I want [the government] to make sure he can never enter Japan [again],” one X user wrote.
On Tuesday, the Australian embassy warned on Facebook that travellers must ensure “appropriate behaviour” while visiting Japan, without explicitly referring to the video.
The embassy, which did not respond to a request for comment from Agence France-Presse, said on Facebook that it “works closely with Japanese authorities to ensure that travellers from Australia respect and observe local laws and rules”.
