She is from Tsuruga 敦賀市, a small city (by Japanese standards) of 66 000 people. Found in Tsuruga is the Port of Humanity Tsuruga Museum 人道の港 敦賀ムゼウム. It displays the history of Tsuruga Port and emphasizes Chiune Sigu
hara 杉原 千畝. Sigihara was the vice-consul for the Japanese Empire in Kaunaus, Lithuania. During World War II, he helped thousands of Jews flee Europe by issuing transit visas to them so they could travel through Japanese territory. Most of the Jews he helped were from German-occupied Western Poland and Soviet-occupied Easter Poland, as well as residents of Lithuania. Sugihara risked his career and the lives of his family in doing so.
In 1985, Israel honoured Sugihara as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for his actions. He is the only Japanese national so honoured. In 2020, Lithuania declared it the Year of Chiune Sugihara. It is estimated that 100 000 people alive today are descendants of the recipients of Sugihara's visas.
Sugihara was reassigned to East Prussia and then moved on to Prague. From 1942-1944 he was assigned to Bucharest, Romania. He was promoted to the rank of third secretary in 1943, and decorated with the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1944. When the Soviets entered Romania, he and his family were imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp for 18 months. He returned to Japan in 1946, and then was dismissed by the Japanese foreign office in 1947. Officially he was dismissed due to downsizing, how his wife believes he was dismissed because of "that incident" in Lithuania.
He passed away at the age of 86 in hospital at Kamakura.
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