Japanese guesthouses say that changing policies that require guests to declare they have never committed a war crime in accordance with complaints by Israeli ambassadors is under pressure from local governments.
Israeli Ambassador Girad Cohen has denounced Kyoto’s Wind Villa Guesthouse for discrimination in Kyoto after an April incident in which Israeli tourists were asked to sign a pledge that “has never been involved in war crimes that violate humanitarian and international law.”
In a post on X over the weekend, Cohen described the request as “a blatant act of discrimination against Israeli citizens and an unacceptable attempt to identify them with war criminals.”
“I am urging Kyoto authorities to deal with this incident promptly,” Cohen said.
“We trust that Japanese authorities will continue to maintain the value of hospitality and respect that Japan is very well known, and that all visitors feel welcome and safe.”
I am deeply concerned about the discriminatory incident that took place at Wind Villa Guesthouse in Kyoto in April. Israeli tourists were asked to sign a declaration that they had not committed war crimes.
This is a blatant act of discrimination against Israeli citizens…
– Gilad Cohen🇮🇱🎗️ (@giladcohen_) May 10, 2025
In an interview, Wind Villa owner Ace Kishi, said there are no plans to change policies following an investigation by Kyoto city authorities and rebels from Israeli envoys.
Kishi said he began asking guests to sign the pledge about six months ago in response to events around the world.
“I was really worried about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli attacks against Gaza,” Kishi told Al Jazeera.
“We just wanted to take some steps because of our safety, our guests’ safety and our differences in opinion over war crimes and international violations.”
Kishi said that only four have signed the pledge so far. There are three Israelis and one Russian.
Israeli tourists in April were first troubled by the request, he said, but some guests were surprised by the document.
“In most cases, they didn’t dispute. They looked a bit confused,” Kishi said.
“The last one was very confused and upset. But in the end he signed and said he hadn’t committed a war crime.”
In an explanation of his interactions with Israeli tourists posted last month on X, Kishi described the man as an otherwise comfortable guest, admitting that he felt “even a bit sorry for him.”
“The pledge made us quite awkward, but he still greeted me every time we met,” Kyo wrote.
“He kept the door open for me while I was carrying my luggage. But he believed that what Israel was doing was absolutely right and I thought I was brainwashed for criticizing it.”
Given the number of troops deployed in Gaza, the number of casualties there, and the number of Israeli travellers abroad, it is statistically undeniable that people who committed war crimes walk freely in major cities and tourist destinations around the world.
– Guest House Windvilla (@windvilla) May 1, 2025
Unnamed Israeli tourists shared a similar version of the event with the Israeli news outlet after their trip to Kyoto, but the Israeli report suggests that the pledge is a “condition for check-in.”
“In the end, I decided to sign because I had nothing to hide,” the guest was quoted as telling Ynet News.
“The statement is true. I don’t commit war crimes, and Israeli soldiers don’t commit war crimes. I signed it because I didn’t want to create a problem.
Following complaints from Cohen and the Israeli Embassy, Kyoto Tourism Authority visited the guesthouse several times to conduct an investigation, Kyo said.
“At least, authorities from both the city and the Japanese government do not believe that it violates the Hotel Act,” Kishi noted the Japanese Act that governs public accommodation.
“They are just expressing their concerns and are trying to convince us to change our measures. But it’s beyond their authority, so it’s very indirect.”
Kishi said he had fine-tuned the wording of his pledge to state that it would not affect his eligibility to stay at Wind Villa to avoid further incidents.
He also revealed in a public letter to Koen that the pledge requires that the pledge include “all guests that our guesthouses identify as potentially involved in war crimes in order to sign the form,” Burundi, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mali, Myanmar, Palestine, Russia, Syria and Sudan.
According to Kishi, Booking.com has suspended its Wind Villa account since the April incident, but has booked a stay using rival site Expedia.com.
On April 28th, our guesthouse was suddenly stopped by https://t.co/alza8elj8e, just three days after receiving the letter from the Israeli Ambassador, without prior inquiry.
However, the Israeli guest in question was using a different booking site instead of https://t.co/alza8elj8e. pic.twitter.com/t9z2oj3ghf– Guest House Windvilla (@windvilla) May 1, 2025
Other Wind Villa accounts on booking sites, including Expedia.com, continue to operate as normal, Kishi said.
The Kyoto government and the Israeli Embassy in Tokyo did not reply to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.
The Japan Times quoted city officials saying that Windvilla did not violate Japanese law, but the pledge was “inappropriate.”
Booking.com told Al Jazeera that its mission is “to make it easier for everyone to experience the world and tolerate discrimination of any kind.”
“We temporarily suspend this property so that we can further investigate the issue,” the spokesman said.
The Windvilla incident followed a similar incident in Kyoto last year, when a local hotel rejected accommodation for Israeli men over potential ties to Israeli actions in Gaza.
Kyoto News said the Kyoto Hotel in question received a verbal written warning that it had acted illegally.
Japanese Foreign Minister Kawakawa Okawa told local media at the time that it was “unacceptable” for hotels to refuse accommodation due to the guest’s nationality.
“We hope that all visitors to Japan are safe and comfortable with the various activities they have in Japan,” she said at a press conference.