Japanese Prime Minister Visits U.S. Holocaust Museum
Image by Getty Images
Japan’s prime minister at a visit to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington honored the Japanese envoy who helped thousands of Jews escape the Holocaust.
Shinzo Abe, who met with President Barack Obama on Tuesday, said while at the Holocaust museum on Monday, “As a Japanese citizen, I feel extremely proud of [Chiune] Sugihara’s work.”
As Japan’s imperial consul in Lithuania, Sugihara defied orders from his superiors in order to issue at least 2,000 visas to Jews between 1939 and 1940.
During his visit, Abe and his wife each lit a commemorative candle in the Hall of Remembrance and met with three survivors who had been helped by Sugihara.
In January, Abe visited the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren
We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.
With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.
— Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief
