AhlulBayt News Agency: A hotel in Nagano, central Japan, has refused to accept a reservation from an Israeli travel agency, citing dissatisfaction with Israel’s actions against the Palestinian people, according to Japanese media reports.
The Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported on Wednesday that during negotiations with the Israeli agency, the hotel’s management said it was “dissatisfied with actions taken against the Palestinian people,” prompting the decision to reject the booking.
The incident drew a protest from the Israeli Embassy in Japan, which sent a letter to the Nagano prefectural government on October 21 requesting an investigation into the matter.
Following the inquiry, the Nagano government issued a verbal warning to the hotel’s operating company, stating that the refusal could be interpreted as discrimination based on nationality, which is prohibited under Japanese guidelines.
The case comes amid heightened public debate in Japan over Israel’s war on Gaza and growing expressions of solidarity with Palestinians. Earlier this year, another incident sparked controversy when a hotel in Kyoto asked an Israeli tourist to sign a declaration stating that he had not committed war crimes during his military service as a condition for checking in.
Public demonstrations criticizing Israel’s actions in Gaza have taken place in several Japanese cities in recent months, including rallies in Tokyo calling for an end to the war.
Since October 2023, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 70,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and wounded over 171,000 others, according to Palestinian health authorities. Large parts of the Gaza Strip have been reduced to rubble, triggering a severe humanitarian crisis.
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