This week, thousands of people from around the world, from Holocaust survivors to kings and heads of state, descended on Auschwitz-Birkenau to commemorate 80 years since the death camp’s liberation. Similarly, a smaller, likewise meaningful commemoration took place at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
The museum, in collaboration with the Israel-Japan Friendship Society and the Embassy of Japan in Israel, hosted an event marking the 125th anniversary of the birth of the sole Japanese recipient of the title Righteous Among the Nations: Chiune (Sempo) Sugihara.
The event featured an insightful lecture by Yossi Krichely, former international affairs adviser to Yaotsu Municipality, Japan (Sugihara’s birthplace), and a representative of the Sugihara Museum, detailing his life’s journey, as well as a musical performance titled “Tikkun Olam,” featuring a blend of Jewish and Japanese music.
Madoka Sugihara, Sugihara’s granddaughter, stated via a pre-recorded video message, “I would like to convey my gratitude for holding an event in my grandfather’s memory and in honor of the 125th anniversary of his birth.
“Recently, a survivor’s family came to visit Japan from Canada. One visa saved a young couple, and now their family has 25 members. It is estimated that the number of people alive today, thanks to the visas issued by my grandfather, is as high as 250,000.
“My grandfather told the survivors, ‘I am willing to help anyone regardless of their ethnicity.’ I am working hard to tell my grandfather’s story and of the Holocaust to the younger generation in Japan and say that even one person can change the world,” she concluded.
Yaotsu Mayor Masanori Kaneko also reflected via a pre-recorded message on the enduring humanitarian spirit of Sugihara’s birthplace.
“Yaotsu is a town where one can feel the richness of nature and the abundance of love for humanity,” the mayor said. “From the humanitarian spirit of the town of Yaotsu, where Chiune Sugihara was born, we pray for more people to appreciate the value of life, the significance of peace, and a world without war.”
But who was Chiune Sugihara?
IN A time of unimaginable darkness during World War II, Sugihara, often referred to as Japan’s “Schindler,” is remembered as one ordinary man who, during the world’s darkest days and pushed by circumstances, did extraordinary things.
Born on January 1, 1900, in Yaotsu, Gifu Prefecture, Chiune Sugihara excelled in academics, mastering English, Russian, and German. He pursued a career in diplomacy and was posted to various locations, including Harbin, China, where he became deeply familiar with Russian culture and geopolitics. By 1939, he was assigned as vice-consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, with the mission of gathering intelligence on Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.
In mid-1940, thousands of Jewish refugees who had fled Poland found themselves stranded in Lithuania, desperate to escape the advancing Nazi regime. With borders closing and options dwindling, many turned to foreign consulates for transit visas that could save their lives. Sugihara became their last hope. Thousands of Jews had been granted visas to enter Curaçao, a Dutch dependency in the Caribbean, by Jan Zwartendijk, honorary consul of the Netherlands in Lithuania. Due to the war, the Jews could not travel west, leaving going eastward their only hope – via Japan.
Sugihara had recounted how he was disturbed at his desk early one morning by the sound of a crowd gathering outside the consulate. As he came down the front steps, he was greeted by a frantic and despairing crowd of Jewish refugees desperate for help. A photo he took of the crowd that morning still exists. It was at that moment that Sugihara’s life took a turn that has ensured he will live forever in the memory of the Jewish people.
The vice-consul repeatedly requested permission from Tokyo to issue transit visas, but his superiors refused. Nevertheless, moved by the plight of the refugees, he decided to act against orders. Over the course of several weeks, Sugihara, with the help of his wife, Yukiko, worked tirelessly to handwrite visas, often issuing up to 300 a day.
BY THE time the consulate was closed in September 1940, Sugihara had issued more than 2,100 visas. Many of these documents covered entire families, meaning the actual number of lives saved likely exceeded 6,000. Even as he boarded a train to leave Lithuania, he continued to write visas and hand them out to refugees who had gathered at the station.
Using Sugihara’s visas, Jewish refugees traveled through the Soviet Union and Japan, eventually reaching safer destinations such as Shanghai and the Americas. His actions gave them the chance to rebuild their lives and families, a legacy that endures today in tens of thousands of their descendants.
After the war, Sugihara was forced to resign from Japan’s Foreign Ministry, in part due to his unauthorized actions. He lived a modest life, working in various fields to support his family. For decades, his heroic deeds remained largely unknown until survivors and their descendants began sharing their stories.
In 1985, Sugihara was formally recognized by Israel’s Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations, an honor bestowed upon non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The righteous diplomat passed away in 1986.
Arie Kutz, chairman of the Israel-Japan Friendship Society and cultural attaché of the Japanese Embassy in Israel, emphasized Sugihara’s lasting impact to those gathered at the commemoration. “His legacy of bravery and humanity continues to inspire us all in the fight against injustice and hatred,” he said.
This sentiment was echoed by Lithuania’s ambassador to Israel, Audrius Brūzga, who reflected on Sugihara’s connection to his nation. “The name of Sugihara is very close to us in Lithuania. It took the brave ones and the courageous ones to take a different path and to take responsibility and do something, as was the case with Sugihara.”
JAPANESE AMBASSADOR to Israel Arai Yusuke also expressed his admiration for Sugihara’s legacy, which deepened after Yusuke’s arrival in Israel. “Sugihara is one of Japan’s greatest diplomats, and after arriving a year ago in Israel, I learned even more than I already knew about him,” Yusuke said. “Going to Yad Vashem and learning more about the Holocaust gave me a better understanding of Sugihara.”
For one attendee at the ANU Museum event, these were more than just words. As a six-year-old boy in 1940, he received a visa from Sugihara – and now, 84 years later, he was able to celebrate the man who saved his life.
Today, Sugihara’s story is commemorated in memorials and educational initiatives worldwide. Many streets in Israel are named after him, and his son Nobuki became so enamored with the Jewish state that he learned Hebrew and studied at Hebrew University. The Sugihara House in Kaunas, Lithuania, stands as a testament to his bravery, and his hometown of Yaotsu has established the Chiune Sugihara Memorial Hall. Last year, over a thousand Israelis visited Yaotsu and paid tribute to the brave diplomat.
“Sugihara’s unique actions resonate strongly today, in an era when antisemitism is on the rise and Jewish communities worldwide face aggression and violence reminiscent of darker periods in history,” said Oded Revivi, CEO of ANU. “His courageous choice of humanity, morality, and love for others in defiance of the norms of his time is an inspiration for all.”
While Poland may have been the scene of the international gathering to commemorate 80 years since Auschwitz’s liberation – including dignitaries and heads of state, as well as many survivors, whose numbers dwindle each year – the more intimate gathering in Tel Aviv in honor of Chiune Sugihara proves that, indeed, “even one person can change the world.”