Ambassadors of Israel to Japan

The ambassador is the head of Israel's diplomatic mission in Japan and represents the Israeli government in official relations with Japan. The surviving accessible record is uneven: some sources provide exact terms of office, while others identify an ambassador only in connection with a particular interview, delegation, agreement, or event. The list below is therefore limited to individuals whose service is documented in the cited sources.

Israel and Japan established diplomatic relations on May 15, 1952.[1] Negotiations had begun earlier that year, after which the two governments announced an exchange of legations. Israel's legation, initially headed by a government minister, opened in Tokyo in December 1952.[2][4]

Israel was the first Middle Eastern country to open a diplomatic mission in Tokyo. The Israeli and Japanese legations were raised to embassy level in 1963, establishing ambassadorial representation between the two countries.[4][3]

Before the 1963 upgrade, Israel's mission was headed by a government minister rather than an ambassador. The Tokyo post also acquired a regional role after Israel closed its embassy in Seoul in 1978. Diplomatic relations with South Korea were then conducted through Tokyo, and Israel's ambassador to Japan served concurrently as nonresident ambassador to South Korea until the Seoul embassy reopened in January 1992.[5]

The work of the embassy has included political representation, regional diplomacy, technological cooperation, and public outreach. Israel and Japan signed a cybersecurity memorandum in 2018 covering research and development, information exchange, and training.[1] Israeli ambassadors have also participated in cultural and commemorative events, including an Israeli independence celebration in Watari and the dedication of a statue honoring Chiune Sugihara in Nagoya.[6][7]

The following officeholders are documented in the available sources, although the record does not establish an uninterrupted succession.

Yaacov Cohen served as ambassador to Japan and South Korea from 1985 to 1988. His broader diplomatic career included service as chargé d'affaires in Turkey from 1980 to 1981, ambassador to Venezuela from 1981 to 1985, ambassador to Spain from 1992 to 1995, and minister for economic affairs at Israel's embassy in Belgium.[5]

Yitzhak Lior is identified as a former Israeli ambassador to Japan. The available source does not give his dates of service.[8]

Eli-Eliyahu Cohen, also rendered Eli Cohen, served as ambassador from 2004 to 2007.[9] He was described as the first appointee to the post who was not a career diplomat. A former Knesset member, he entered the role as a political appointee, and a July 2004 report identified him as Israel's new ambassador in Tokyo.[9][10] He said that one of his priorities was addressing what he regarded as widespread Japanese ignorance about Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.[10]

Nissim Ben-Sheetrit was identified as Israel's ambassador to Japan in a July 2013 column. The source does not provide the full dates of his tenure.[11]

Ruth Kahanov was identified as a former ambassador to Japan in a 2023 report, which did not specify her term of service.[12]

Yaffa Ben-Ari was serving as ambassador during at least October 2018 through November 2019.[13][14] During her tenure, she signed a cybersecurity cooperation memorandum covering research and development, information exchange, and training.[15] She also attended a 2018 celebration of Israel's seventieth anniversary in Watari and the dedication of a bronze statue of Chiune Sugihara in Nagoya.[6][7] The cited sources do not establish the precise beginning or end of her term.

Gilad Cohen began serving as ambassador in October 2021. Before the posting, he served from 2017 to 2021 as Deputy Director General for the Asia and Pacific Division of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[16][17] A 2022 account identified him as ambassador and showed him presenting his diplomatic credentials to Emperor Naruhito.[1] A February 2026 report still described Cohen as the serving ambassador but said that Emmanuel Navon was expected to replace him.[17]

Emmanuel Navon was named in February 2026 as Cohen's intended successor, with the appointment then awaiting review and approval by the relevant appointments committee.[17] A later 2026 report described Navon as Israel's incoming ambassador and discussed his goal of developing Japan into a strategic partner while diversifying Israel's international alliances.[18] The readable cited sources do not establish the precise date on which the handover occurred.

The Tokyo ambassadorship has served both bilateral and regional purposes. Its development from a legation into an embassy reflected the institutional growth of Israel-Japan relations, while the ambassador's former concurrent accreditation to South Korea gave the post a wider East Asian role.[3][5] More recent diplomatic activity has included cybersecurity cooperation, engagement with political and civic delegations, and participation in events connecting Japanese communities with Israel and Jewish history.[1][7]

The ambassadorial post has occasionally become a focus of disputes concerning Japanese policy toward Israel. On August 6, 2024, anti-Israel activists protested Ambassador Gilad Cohen's presence at Hiroshima's atomic-bomb memorial ceremony. Nagasaki separately excluded Israel from its August 9 ceremony, prompting the ambassadors of several Group of Seven countries to decline high-level participation.[19] The Nagasaki mayor said the exclusion was intended to avoid disruption rather than to make a political judgment.