Jerusalem dedicates square to Japanese diplomat who saved WW2 Jews

Chiune Sugihara issued over 2,000 visas in Lithuania; his son Nobuki addresses the event, having received last-minute visa after a media report

THE CITY OF Jerusalem on Monday dedicated a square in the Kiryat Yovel neighbourhood in memory of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who issued over 2,000 visas to Jewish individuals and families, in breach of Japanese policy, when serving as the Japanese vice-consul to Kovno (today Kaunas) in Lithuania in 1940.

The recipients were overwhelmingly Jewish refugees and families who had fled Nazi-occupied Poland ahead of Germany’s invasion of then-independent Lithuania. With these visas, and a complex mechanism of aid from other consuls, companies and individuals, up to 10,000 Jews are thought to have been saved from WWII Europe, escaping via the Soviet Union to Japan.

Among the recipients were teachers and the entire student body of the Mir Yeshiva, which today thrives in Jerusalem’s Beit Yisrael neighborhood.

Sugihara’s deeds were recognized in 1984 by Israel, which bestowed upon him the title of Righteous Among the Nations, and posthumously by Japan, in 2000.

Chiune’s 72-year-old son, Nobuki Sugihara, who lives in Belgium, addressed the event, having been given a last-minute visa following a Times of Israel report that revealed Israel was denying him entry because of missing COVID-related paperwork.

FULL STORY Jerusalem dedicates square to Japanese diplomat who saved thousands of Jews (Times of Israel)

Photo: Nobuki Sugihara addresses participants at a ceremony in Jerusalem's Kiryat Yovel neighbourhood dedicating Chiune Sugihara Square to his father (Times of Israel)