A Japanese shrine using an AI-generated image of an anime girl on X has somehow escalated into multiple death threats and an arrest. As reported by The Sankei Shimbun, local police recently arrested a 38-year-old unemployed man on suspicion of intimidation and obstruction of business after he sent dozens of threatening emails to Kurumazaki Shrine, a Shinto shrine located in Kyoto.
Built circa 1189, Kurumazaki Shrine is dedicated to the performing arts, and it’s known for being visited by famous celebrities in the entertainment industry. In March this year, the shrine inadvertently caused an outrage on social media after it uploaded an AI-generated image as its profile picture on X.
The picture featured an anime-style illustration of a girl clad in shrine maiden attire, posing below a cherry blossom tree. People were disappointed to see a shrine that’s supposed to celebrate the arts supporting AI, which led to an influx of criticism so intense the shrine deleted its official X account the very same day.
However, as the Sankei reports, this did not deter people from voicing their woes with the poor image choice, as many turned to sending emails instead. Moreover, this escalated beyond just criticism, with the shrine “receiving dozens of threatening emails.” The aforementioned 38-year-old man reportedly wrote to the shrine’s officials saying, “Your damn shrine will burn to the ground in an unexplained fire one of these days.” He also attached an image of flames for good measure. Kyoto Shimbun further reports that the man threatened to beat the shrine’s officials to death in another message.
In response, Kurumazaki Shrine had to tighten security on its grounds and ramp up safety patrols. Following his arrest in July, the unemployed man admitted to sending the threats. When asked about a motive, he said he was “pissed off” by the shrine’s affirmative attitude towards AI art. Police has established that the culprit has no connection to the shrine.
Meanwhile, the AI “artist” who prompted Kurumazaki Shrine’s controversial profile picture into existence was also targeted. After news broke of the arrest, the AI user reportedly received a message that said, “Come to my house with 3 million yen in cash and apologize or I’ll kill you.” Frightened for his safety, he promptly contacted police.
