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Tribute to wartime Japan diplomat who saved Jewish refugees

Japanese American Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper (C) plays a symphony together with the New York City Opera Orchestra at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 19, 2023, in honor of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. He disregarded the orders of his superiors and issued visas in 1940 to help Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution as the acting consul in Kaunas, Lithuania.

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Tribute to wartime Japan diplomat who saved Jewish refugees

Japanese American Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper (front, L) acknowledges the audience at New York's Carnegie Hall on April 19, 2023, after playing a symphony together with the New York City Opera Orchestra in honor of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara. He disregarded the orders of his superiors and issued visas in 1940 to help Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution as the acting consul in Kaunas, Lithuania.

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Jewish woman who fled Nazis

NEW YORK, United States - Deborah Reed (L) receives a photo of her mother Sonia at the residence of the Japanese consul general in New York on Nov. 24, 2014. Sonia fled Nazi Germany, traveling to the United States via Japan, with the help of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who helped thousands of Jews by issuing travel documents. The identity of the woman in the photo, left behind in Japan, was recently identified as Deborah's mother.

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Fukui Pref.'s sake marketed in Israel

JERUSALEM, Israel - Atsuhide Kato, president of sake brewery Kato Kichibei Shoten in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, holds a bottle of sake in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Oct. 21, 2014. The connection between Fukui and Israel dates back to World War II when thousands of Jews escaped from the Nazi persecution to the prefecture with the help of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat in Lithuania.

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Anne Frank books donated to Tokyo library in late diplomat's name

TOKYO, Japan - The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library displays on Feb. 26, 2014, more than 130 copies of "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank and related books donated by a person in the name of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara after vandalism left over 300 copies of such books in tatters in the Japanese capital's libraries. Sugihara, who disobeyed his government's orders and issued transit visas that saved thousands of Jewish refugees from the Nazis during World War II, died in 1986.

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Holocaust survivor, recipient of Sugihara visa, dies at 90

TOKYO, Japan - This undated file photo shows Samuil Manski, who was among upwards of 6,000 Jews granted life-saving transit visas by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara during World War II. Manski died on June 19, 2011, in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the age of 90.

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'Sakura' trees in Lithuania to honor wartime Japan diplomat

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Japanese Ambassador to Lithuania Miyoko Akashi (2nd from L) and Mikio Sugiyama (L) and Kazuo Kawashima (3rd from L) of the Gifu Cherry Blossoms Group, and others plant cherry blossom trees at Chiune Sugihara Park in Vilnius, Lithuania, on May 3, 2011. Some 500 people took part in an event to plant cherry blossom trees in honor of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, a native of Gifu, who saved thousands of Jewish refugees from the Nazis in the wartime period by issuing them transit visas.

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Sugihara statue dedicated in L.A.'s Little Tokyo

LOS ANGELES, United States - A bronze statue of Chiune Sugihara (C) was dedicated Dec. 13 in the Little Tokyo district in downtown Los Angeles in a ceremony. The late Japanese diplomat disobeyed the Japanese government and rescued thousands of Jews from the Holocaust by issuing them exit visas when he was the consul general in the then Lithuanian capital of Kuanas from 1938 to 1940. Sugihara's son Chiaki Sugihara puts his hand on the left shoulder of the statue.

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Interview with 'Japan's Schindler' made public

GIFU, Japan - Visitors at a museum in Yaotsu in Gifu Prefecture commemorating Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who is known as ''Japan's Schindler'' use headphones to listen to a recording of an interview given by Sugihara. The museum made Sugihara's recording available to the general public on April 2, in which Sugihara revealed reasons for issuing transit visas to thousands of Jews in defiance of Japanese government policy.

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Sugihara's widow speaks ahead of tree planting in Lithuania

TOKYO, Japan - Yukiko Sugihara (L), widow of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, speaks to reporters Sept. 24 at Tokyo's Waseda University ahead of the planting of 250 cherry trees in Lithuania beginning next month in memory of her husband. The late Chiune Sugihara served in World War II and saved more than 6,000 Jews by issuing them transit visas to Japan against orders from Tokyo. His widow expressed concern over Japan's potential involvement in military retaliations for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, saying, ''I'm very worried about Japan being drawn into war.''

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Sugihara film garners another award

LOS ANGELES, United States - The International Documentary Association (IDA) awards the Pare Lorentz prize at a ceremony Oct. 27 to a film about Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Lithuania who issued more than 2,000 visas to Jews during World War II. Photo shows Diane Estelle Vicari, the film's producer, making a speech at the ceremony held in Los Angeles.

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Plaque unveiled for Japanese diplomat who saved Jews

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Yohei Kono (R) unveils a plaque commemorating Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who worked against the interests of his own country to save thousands of Jews in Lithuania during World War II, together with Sugihara's widow Yukiko at the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Record Office in Tokyo on Oct. 10. Sugihara died in 1986 and five years later the ministry released an official statement aimed at recovering his honor.

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Film about Sugihara gets top documentary award

LOS ANGELES, United States - Film producer Diane Estelle Vicari (L) and writer/director Robert Kirk pose with the award they won for best documentary at the Hollywood Film Festival Awards Gala on Aug. 7. They received the award for their film ''Conspiracy of Kindness,'' which tells the story of Chiune Sugihara, who used his position as a diplomat to save thousands of Jewish refugees in Europe from the Nazis.

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Memorial plaque to Sugihara to go up at Foreign Ministry

TOKYO, Japan - A plaque commemorating Chiune Sugihara (shown in this file photo), a Japanese diplomat who saved about 6,000 Jews from Nazi Germany during World War II, will go up at the Foreign Ministry. While working as vice consul at the Japanese mission in Kovno, Lithuania, Sugihara ignored orders from Tokyo and issued thousands of Japanese transit visas in 1940 to Jews fleeing Nazi Germany. In 1947, he retired and returned to the country, but reportedly faced punitive action for disobeying orders. He died in 1986.

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Memorial hall built for Japanese savior of Jews

GIFU, Japan - A memorial hall for Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved some 6,000 Jews from persecution by Nazi Germany during World War II, has been completed at his hometown of Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The hall was opened for press preview May 23. Public opening is scheduled for July 30.

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Japan center to open in Lithunia in Sugihara's honor

MOSCOW, Russia - File photo shows Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews flee Nazi Germany during World War II. His admirers plan to open a Japan research center in May at the site the former Japanese consulate in Lithuania where Sugihara was posted. The facility, an integral part of Vitautas Magnus University, will offer Japanese-language courses, hold Japanese cultural events and other activities. It will also provide reference materials on Sugihara and historical documents on the persecution of Jews under Nazi Germany.

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Exhibition honors diplomats who saved Jews from Nazis

NEW YORK, United States - A visitor looks at photos dating from the Holocaust at an exhibition entitled, ''Visas for Life: the Righteous Diplomats,'' that opened at the United Nations in New York on April 3. The exhibit honors some 80 diplomats from more than 20 countries who saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II by issuing them visas. On the far left is the photo of Chiune Sugihara, a former Japanese consul who served in Lithuania and is credited with saving the lives of about 6,000 Jews.

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"Chiune Sugihara Square" in Jerusalem

Nobuki Sugihara (3rd from R), a son of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, credited with helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas, attends a ceremony at a square in Jerusalem on Oct. 11, 2021, after the square was named "Chiune Sugihara Square."

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"Chiune Sugihara Square" in Jurusalem

Nobuki Sugihara (R), a son of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, credited with helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas, poses at "Chiune Sugihara Square" in Jerusalem on Oct. 11, 2021. A ceremony naming the square "Chiune Sugihara Square" was held there the same day.

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"Chiune Sugihara Square" in Jerusalem

Nobuki Sugihara, a son of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, credited with helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas, speaks during a ceremony at a square in Jerusalem on Oct. 11, 2021, after the square was named "Chiune Sugihara Square."

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Interview with 'Japan's Schindler' made public

GIFU, Japan - Visitors at a museum in Yaotsu in Gifu Prefecture commemorating Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who is known as ''Japan's Schindler'' use headphones to listen to a recording of an interview given by Sugihara. The museum made Sugihara's recording available to the general public on April 2, in which Sugihara revealed reasons for issuing transit visas to thousands of Jews in defiance of Japanese government policy.

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Japan emperor, empress offer flowers at Antakalnis Cemetery in L

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko of Japan visit a monument in Vilnius on May 26 dedicated to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who was posted in Lithuania during World War II and helped save thousands of Jews from the Nazis by issuing them transit visas. The imperial couple were on a visit to Lithuania, the fourth leg of their 10-day European tour. (Pool photo by Kyodo News) (Kyodo)

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Emperor, empress visit Lithuania site honoring Japan diplomat

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko of Japan visit a monument in Vilnius on May 26 dedicated to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who was posted in Lithuania during World War II and helped save thousands of Jews from the Nazis by issuing them transit visas. The imperial couple were on a visit to Lithuania, the fourth leg of their 10-day European tour. (Pool photo by Kyodo News) (Kyodo)

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Emperor, empress visit Lithuania site honoring Japan diplomat

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko of Japan visit a monument in Vilnius on May 26 dedicated to Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who was posted in Lithuania during World War II and helped save thousands of Jews from the Nazis by issuing them transit visas. The imperial couple were on a visit to Lithuania, the fourth leg of their 10-day European tour. (Pool photo by Kyodo News) (Kyodo)

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Memorial hall built for Japanese savior of Jews

GIFU, Japan - A memorial hall for Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved some 6,000 Jews from persecution by Nazi Germany during World War II, has been completed at his hometown of Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. The hall was opened for press preview May 23. Public opening is scheduled for July 30.

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Plaque unveiled for Japanese diplomat who saved Jews

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Yohei Kono (R) unveils a plaque commemorating Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who worked against the interests of his own country to save thousands of Jews in Lithuania during World War II, together with Sugihara's widow Yukiko at the Foreign Ministry's Diplomatic Record Office in Tokyo on Oct. 10. Sugihara died in 1986 and five years later the ministry released an official statement aimed at recovering his honor.

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Japan center to open in Lithunia in Sugihara's honor

MOSCOW, Russia - File photo shows Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews flee Nazi Germany during World War II. His admirers plan to open a Japan research center in May at the site the former Japanese consulate in Lithuania where Sugihara was posted. The facility, an integral part of Vitautas Magnus University, will offer Japanese-language courses, hold Japanese cultural events and other activities. It will also provide reference materials on Sugihara and historical documents on the persecution of Jews under Nazi Germany.

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Exhibition honors diplomats who saved Jews from Nazis

NEW YORK, United States - A visitor looks at photos dating from the Holocaust at an exhibition entitled, ''Visas for Life: the Righteous Diplomats,'' that opened at the United Nations in New York on April 3. The exhibit honors some 80 diplomats from more than 20 countries who saved hundreds of thousands of Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II by issuing them visas. On the far left is the photo of Chiune Sugihara, a former Japanese consul who served in Lithuania and is credited with saving the lives of about 6,000 Jews.

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Japan seeking UNESCO listing for diplomat who saved 6,000 Jews

Photo shows Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who served as an acting consul in Lithuania in 1940. Japan on Sept. 24, 2015, selected a set of items documenting Sugihara's efforts to help around 6,000 Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II for inclusion on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Home of "Japan's Schindler" seeks listing on UNESCO world memory list

A replica of one of visas issued by Chiune Sugihara, known as "Japan's Schindler" for having helped about 6,000 Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II, is on display at his memorial hall in Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on June 19, 2015. The hometown of the late consul in Lithuania during the war is seeking to have the man's records added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Original visa by "Japan's Schindler" shown to media

Photo taken in Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Oct. 23, 2015, shows the original visa issued by Chiune Sugihara, a diplomat known as "Japan's Schindler" for having helped about 6,000 Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II. Japan is seeking to list the records of the late acting consul in Lithuania in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Original visa by "Japan's Schindler" shown to media

Daisaku Kunieda, director of the Sugihara Chiune Memorial Hall, holds the original visa issued by Sugihara, a diplomat known as "Japan's Schindler" for having helped about 6,000 Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II, at the hall in Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Oct. 23, 2015. Japan is seeking to list the records of the late acting consul in Lithuania in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Russian Jewish Congress chief talks about diplomat Sugihara

Russian Jewish Congress President Yuri Kanner and Japan-Russia culture center chief Suguru Kawamura (R) talk about the late Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara in front of a plaque commemorating Sugihara at a hotel in Moscow on Oct. 14, 2015. Sugihara saved the lives of thousands of Jews during his tenure as vice-consul at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, from 1939 to 1940 by issuing transit visas to Japan to many Jews escaping from persecution by the Nazis. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Commemorative plaque praising Sugihara's acts shown in Moscow

Japan-Russia culture center chief Suguru Kawamura shows a commemorative plaque honoring the late Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara at a hotel in Moscow on Oct. 14, 2015. Kawamura worked for a trading company in Moscow after World War II as a subordinate of Sugihara, who saved the lives of thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi persecution during the war by issuing them with visas to Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Event honoring late diplomat Sugihara held at Moscow hotel

An event to honor the late Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara is held in a hotel in Moscow on Oct. 14, 2015. Sugihara saved the lives of thousands of Jews during his tenure as vice-consul at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, from 1939 to 1940 by issuing transit visas to Japan to many Jews escaping from persecution by the Nazis. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Courageous diplomat's documents sought to be on World Memory list

File photo shows Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), a Japanese diplomat who helped thousands of Jews escape Nazi persecution during World War II. In June 2015, the central Japanese town of Yaotsu, the hometown of "Japan's Schindler," in Gifu Prefecture started the process of seeking to have documents associated with Sugihara inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register. Serving as vice consul at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas in Lithuania, Sugihara issued transit visas to Japan to Jewish refugees on humanitarian grounds. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Holocaust survivor, recipient of Sugihara visa, dies at 90

TOKYO, Japan - This undated file photo shows Samuil Manski, who was among upwards of 6,000 Jews granted life-saving transit visas by Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara during World War II. Manski died on June 19, 2011, in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the age of 90. (Kyodo)

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'Sakura' trees in Lithuania to honor wartime Japan diplomat

VILNIUS, Lithuania - Japanese Ambassador to Lithuania Miyoko Akashi (2nd from L) and Mikio Sugiyama (L) and Kazuo Kawashima (3rd from L) of the Gifu Cherry Blossoms Group, and others plant cherry blossom trees at Chiune Sugihara Park in Vilnius, Lithuania, on May 3, 2011. Some 500 people took part in an event to plant cherry blossom trees in honor of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, a native of Gifu, who saved thousands of Jewish refugees from the Nazis in the wartime period by issuing them transit visas. (Kyodo)

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Sugihara House in Lithuania

File photo taken in February 2020 shows Sugihara House in Kaunas, Lithuania, a memorial to wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who is credited with helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas.

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Lithuania president at Chiune Sugihara memorial

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda (2nd from L) poses for a photo at the Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall in Yaotsu in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Oct. 24, 2019. Japanese diplomat Sugihara helped thousands of Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust while serving as acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Monument in Israel commemorating Chiune Sugihara

Photo taken April 2, 2019, shows a monument newly installed at a school in Beit Shemesh, Israel, in honor of wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who helped thousands of Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust while serving as Japan's acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Ceremony in Israel commemorating Chiune Sugihara

A ceremony is held at a school in Beit Shemesh, Israel, on May 2, 2019, to commemorate wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who helped thousands of Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust while serving as Japan's acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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International tourism fair in Israel

Masanori Kaneko (R), mayor of Yaotsu town in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, hands a pamphlet about wartime Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who helped Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas, to a visitor at an international tourism fair in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Feb. 12, 2019. The pamphlet was prepared by six municipalities in four prefectures connected to the diplomat, including Yaotsu town. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Chiune Sugihara memorial

Photo taken in Nagoya on Jan. 12, 2019, shows a memorial to Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who helped thousands of Jewish refugees escape the Holocaust while serving as acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Statues commemorating Chiune Sugihara

Photo taken Jan. 12, 2019, shows statues depicting Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara handing a transit visa to a Jewish family, at Zuiryo high school, the successor institution to Sugihara's alma mater in Nagoya, central Japan. Sugihara helped thousands of Jewish refugees to escape the Holocaust while serving as Japan's acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Statues commemorating Chiune Sugihara

Photo taken Jan. 12, 2019, shows statues depicting Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara handing a transit visa to a Jewish family, at Zuiryo high school, the successor institution to Sugihara's alma mater in Nagoya, central Japan. Sugihara helped thousands of Jewish refugees to escape the Holocaust while serving as Japan's acting consul in Lithuania. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Polish ambassador visits Japan's Tsuruga

Polish ambassador to Japan Jacek Izydorczyk (L) meets with Tsuruga Mayor Takanobu Fuchikami on April 4, 2018, in the central Japanese city where a large number of Jewish refugees landed after Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara risked his career during World War II by issuing visas that allowed them to escape Nazi persecution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Polish ambassador visits Japan's Tsuruga

Polish ambassador to Japan Jacek Izydorczyk (R) meets with Tsuruga Mayor Takanobu Fuchikami on April 4, 2018, in the central Japanese city where a large number of Jewish refugees landed after Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara risked his career during World War II by issuing visas that allowed them to escape Nazi persecution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Kin of diplomat who saved Jewish refugees keeping his spirit alive

Undated file photo shows Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat during World War II who issued visas to help thousands of Jews escape from Nazi persecution. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japan PM Abe visits Sugihara House

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R) is welcomed by local people upon his visit to Sugihara House in Kaunas, Lithuania, on Jan. 14, 2018. Sugihara House is a memorial to Japanese wartime diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who is credited with helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi persecution by issuing transit visas. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo