Chiune Sugihara, heroic WWII Japanese diplomat, honored by Embassy of Japan in Canada online international event
Thursday, December 24, 2020
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International Chiune Sugihara webinar
The Embassy of Japan in Canada hosted an international webinar "'Visas for Life' and the bond of humanity": Sugihara Chiune's courageous humanitarian act from December 8-12, 2020. It honored the 120th anniversary of the heroic WWII Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara's birth and the 80th anniversary of his courageous issuing of 2,139 transit visas while posted in Kaunus, Lithuania in 1940, saving the lives of 6,000 Jews.
The opening webinar ceremony was introduced by host Ambassador Yasuhisa Kawamura of the Embassy of Japan in Canada.
It was an honor for my sister Karen and I-as the daughters of Sugihara survivor Masha Leon-to have been invited to participate alongside international Embassy dignitaries from Lithuania and Israel, the Canadian CIJA and the Canadian Society for Yad Vashem, introducing and presenting four piano works that expressed hope for peace in the world.
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