Why is Japan souring on foreign workers and tourists?

NARA, Japan’s ancient capital, is known for its temples and its deer, which are said to be messengers of the gods.

Recently, these beloved cervids have become embroiled in a very earthly mess. During her campaign last year to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Takaichi Sanae, a Nara native and now Japan’s prime minister, declared that foreign visitors had been kicking the sacred animals.

“Don’t you think something has gone too far?” she railed.