Plenty of parents kiss their children to show that they love them. There are other cultures where a kiss is considered a sign of respect or a friendly greeting.
My question to you is would you still consider it sexual if it were a boy in a school uniform giving one of those girls a kiss? Because i think we know what your real objection is.
This was my thought as well. There are plenty of European illustrators, why not use one of them for the Euro, and leave the anime for Japan.