An Israeli tourist was asked to sign a declaration at a hotel in Kyoto, Japan, confirming that he had not committed any war crimes during his military service before being allowed to check in, according to a report by Ynetnews on Saturday. The situation unfolded when the tourist presented his Israeli passport at the hotel reception. "The clerk handed me this form and said that without signing it, I would not be allowed to check in," said the man, who served as a combat medic in the Israeli Navy reserves.
The form, as described by the tourist, required him to declare that he had not been involved in war crimes, including acts such as rape, murder of surrendered individuals, or attacks on civilians. Although he initially refused to sign the document, the tourist eventually agreed after the hotel staff informed him that all guests from Israel and Russia were being asked to sign it. Following the incident, Israel’s Ambassador to Japan, Gilad Cohen, sent a formal letter to Kyoto Governor Takatoshi Nishiwaki, stating that imposing such a condition was unacceptable.
The hotel manager defended the requirement, explaining, "For us, war is a distant reality, and we have never encountered people who kill women and children and bomb schools." A similar incident reportedly occurred at another hotel in Kyoto in June of the previous year. Meanwhile, Israel is currently facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice related to its military operations in Gaza, where more than 50,000 people have been killed since the conflict escalated on October 7, 2023.
