Foreign tourists move with their luggage at Kyoto station on April 16, 2025. - AFP
JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL: An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a declaration affirming he had not committed war crimes during his military service before being allowed to check in at a hotel in Kyoto, Japan.
The tourist said the incident occurred after he presented his Israeli passport at reception, when a hotel clerk handed him the form, stating that signing it was a prerequisite for accommodation, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported according to a report by Ynetnews on Saturday (April 26).
The man, a former Navy reserves combat medic, initially refused but eventually signed the document after being informed that all Israeli and Russian guests were required to do so.
The declaration, as quoted, required a pledge that the guest had not committed war crimes such as attacks on civilians, sexual violence, torture or any acts violating the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
It further included a commitment to uphold international humanitarian law and to abstain from any future engagement in war crimes.
Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, sent a letter to Kyoto Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki, protesting the hotel's action as "unacceptable.”
The hotel manager defended the requirement, telling Ynetnews that it was deemed appropriate.
"For us, war is a distant thing and we have never met people who kill women and children and bomb schools," the manager was quoted as saying.
A similar case was reported at another hotel in Kyoto in June last year. - Bernama/Anadolu
