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ARAB AND WORLD

Sun 11 May 2025 11:47 am - Jerusalem Time

War crimes haunt Israeli tourists in Japan

A hotel operator in the Japanese city of Kyoto has required its Israeli clients to sign a pledge not to engage in war crimes before allowing them to stay, an unprecedented move reflecting a civil protest against Israel's ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The company's CEO, Kishi Ise, told Anadolu Agency that the decision came as a personal and humanitarian response to the massacres committed by Israel in Gaza, noting that the images of children under the rubble prompted him to consider a legal means of protest within Japan, where discrimination and customer rejection are prohibited.
Kishi, who has worked in hotel management for about 10 years, described the Israeli massacres in Gaza as completely unacceptable and in violation of international law.
He explained that he had worked as a teacher for many years, adding, "When I saw the pictures of children in Gaza, I realized that I could not stand idly by and do nothing."
"I was wondering what I could do," Kishi added. "In Japan, discrimination and refusing customers are not allowed, so we created a special procedure for signing this pledge. This is the most we can do within the law."
He pointed out that the hotel management required its foreign clients to pledge not to commit war crimes, as the law prohibits refusing clients.

Pledge document
Regarding the details of the typical booking process, Kishi explained that in the first stage, clients arrive at the hotel with a prior reservation, and during face-to-face registration, they verify their nationality and passport information.
"Then we verify whether the country that issued the passport has committed war crimes registered with the International Criminal Court in The Hague," he added.
"Then we present the client with a pledge stating that he has not been in the military or paramilitary forces in that country during the past 10 years, and has not committed war crimes, and we ask him to sign it," he continued.
The document includes the following pledge: “I have not committed any war crimes that violate international humanitarian law, including, but not limited to, attacks on civilians (children, women, etc.), killing or ill-treatment of those who surrender or are taken as prisoners of war, torture or inhuman treatment, sexual violence, forced displacement or pillage, or any other acts falling within the scope of Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
Kishi explained that the hotel management has been implementing this measure for six months, noting that all guests have signed the pledge document.
He pointed out that they receive clients from many countries around the world, including the United States, Turkey, and South Korea.
He added that some countries' disregard for and violation of international law should not be overlooked. Of course, these crimes are not committed in Japan, and they are not directly related to our lives or our problems. Nevertheless, international law obliges us all to comply with it.
He added that it is unfair for us in Japan to continue serving Israelis with a smile after everything they have done, so we force tourists coming from countries that have committed war crimes to sign a document stating that they are not involved in war crimes.
Kishi stressed that they are deeply concerned about what is happening in Gaza, noting the importance of unequal treatment of those who abide by international law and those who violate it.

Israeli resentment
Kishi said they received a letter from the Israeli embassy in Tokyo describing the hotel's stance as "discriminatory."
"We posted the text of the letter on social media and tried to respond to the criticism," he added, noting that this measure does not violate any laws and is not discriminatory. Discrimination relates to matters we cannot change, such as nationality, race, or gender, but this measure is a response to Israel's actions.
Kishi described the Israeli attacks in Gaza as genocide, expressing his dismay at the Japanese government's failure to adequately criticize Israel after October 2023.
He said his country's government is sending regional messages of peace rather than placing direct responsibility on the occupation, noting that Japanese foreign policy is conducted in a manner that focuses on the United States.
Kishi pointed out that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not arrested during his visit to Hungary in early April, despite the country being a member state of the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for him.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full American support, has been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving more than 172,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.

Source: Anadolu Agency

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War crimes haunt Israeli tourists in Japan

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