A minyan of Jewish men from several countries gathered at the Israel Residence in Tokyo this week for communal tefillah and tekias shofar ahead of Rosh Hashanah, marking the first minyan hosted there by newly arrived ambassador-designate Emmanuel Navon.

Navon, who arrived in Tokyo in August to begin his diplomatic posting, described the gathering as his first minyan at the residence since arriving in Japan. The Israeli Embassy in Tokyo officially welcomed him to the country on August 4.

More than ten Jewish men from different countries participated in the gathering, joining together for tefillah despite coming from different backgrounds and places.

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, the participants also heard the sound of the shofar, continuing the traditional Elul practice intended to awaken Jews to teshuvah and preparation for the Yemei HaDin. Footage shared by Navon shows the shofar being sounded during the gathering.

The event provided a small but notable expression of Jewish religious life in Tokyo, bringing Jews from multiple countries together for a minyan thousands of miles from major Jewish population centers.

Navon remains formally ambassador-designate pending the presentation of his credentials. Japan's Foreign Ministry listed him as Israel's ambassador-designate as of August 26.