Israel serves dessert in shoe to Japanese PM and his wife

There aren't that many cultures where putting a shoe on the dining room table is acceptable behaviour, but for the Japanese there is clear etiquette against allowing outdoor shoes inside.

That might explain the furor following a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie Abe, to Israel last week.

The Washington Post reports that after a day of high‑level meetings on May 2nd, the Japanese leader was treated to a festive meal at the official residence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife.

It was their second time in Israel, and the visiting couple were served a top‑notch meal by celebrity Israeli chef Segev Moshe. But then came dessert ‑ artistically arranged inside a shiny leather shoe.

Israel's newspapers said that "Japanese diplomats, Israeli Foreign Ministry officials and high‑ranking Israeli diplomats who previously served in Japan were shocked by the idea. People say there is nothing lower than a shoe in Japanese culture. Not only do they not wear shoes at home, you also won't find shoes in their offices. This is disrespect of the first order.

A Japanese diplomat, also not named by the paper, said: "There's no culture in the world in which you put shoes on the table. What was the distinguished chef thinking? If it was humour, we don't think it is funny; we were offended on behalf of our prime minister."

Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it was not involved in approving the dishes for the meal.