Vincenzo D, 40, was arrested in Wakayama on Wednesday after allegedly trying to kiss a 21-year-old woman on her forehead.
The Italian was stopped by police as the train ride kiss could amount to harassment, La Repubblica reported.
It is unclear whether he knew the woman, whose nationality has not been disclosed by Italian media.
The Italian reportedly arrived in Japan at the end of February on a tourist visa.
His arrest follows three or four similar incidents of “violent and obscene” acts by foreigners in the same area of Japan.
In Italy kissing became the subject of national debate in 2013, when a protester kissed a policeman’s helmet.
A police union threatened to sue the 20-year-old protester for “sexual violence and insulting a public official” over the kiss, which happened during a demonstration against a high-speed train line.
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