Man Arrested for Vandalizing Anne Frank Book in Japan
Tokyo police say the unidentified 36-year-old male admitted to tearing pages from 23 books related to Anne Frank.
By: Sarah Bauder
Authorities in Tokyo have arrested an unidentified 36-year-old male for vandalizing books related to Anne Frank, including The Diary of a Young Girl (The Diary of Anne Frank). More than 300 copies of books related to Anne Frank have had their pages torn out throughout the city.
Tokyo police say the unemployed suspect admitted to vandalizing 23 copies of Frank-related material at a library on February 5th. In addition, it has been reported that some of the torn pages were discovered at an undisclosed residence in the capital. Although his motives appear unclear, many Japanese media outlets have reported that there are doubts regarding the suspect’s mental competency. Authorizes are investigating further to determine if the individual is involved with incidents of vandalism that have occurred at 38 libraries in Tokyo since last month.
The Diary of Anne Frank was first published in 1947 in Amsterdam. It was first published in English in 1952, and likewise, in Japanese, quickly becoming an international bestseller.





