Israel’s foreign minister visits Japan
Gideon Saar has arrived in Japan for a three-day visit that will include meeting with Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, The Times of Israel is reporting.
It is the first time an Israeli foreign minister has visited Japan in 15 years, the outlet added.
Japan’s Iwaya has previously “unequivocally condemned” the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, but has also said his country is “gravely concerned” by the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the killing of civilians.
Some Japanese people have also been vocal in their opposition to the war, including survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, but said they thought the award would go to people working for peace in Gaza.
Japanese guesthouse dismisses Israeli envoy’s criticism over war-crimes pledge
A guesthouse in Kyoto that came under attack from Israel’s envoy to the country for asking an Israeli guest to sign a “pledge of non-involvement in war crimes” has taken to X to explain its rationale.
The Wind Villa quoted Ambassador Gilad Cohen’s tweet and dismissed his claim that the pledge amounted to discrimination against Israelis.
It said the pledge does not target specific nationalities, but rather visitors who had served in military or paramilitary forces that have been determined by the International Criminal Court to have committed war crimes.
“The very definition of ‘discrimination’ is the unequal treatment of individuals based on factors beyond their personal control. To give an example, subjecting someone to unjust violence, confiscating their home and land, denying them legal protection, or detaining them indefinitely without trial simply because they are Palestinian clearly constitutes ‘discrimination’,” the guesthouse wrote.
“If Israeli nationals are more likely to be asked to sign the pledge, it is a consequence of the policies and actions of the Israeli government … Should an individual involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks attempt to stay at our guesthouse, we would likewise ask them to sign the same pledge,” it added.
Our guesthouse’s “Pledge of Non-involvement in War Crimes” applies not on the basis of “nationality,” but rather to individuals who have belonged to a military organization that has been determined by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to have committed war crimes. Therefore,… https://t.co/ki2Uko4y6V
— WIND VILLA (@WindVilla) May 11, 2025
