Japan-Lithuania Relations
Sugihara Chiune, a former vice-consul in Kaunas, and the Japan-Lithuania relations
Sugihara Chiune, also known as Sempo, was a Japanese diplomat who saved the lives of thousands of displaced Jews by issuing transit visas to Japan at the Japanese Consulate in Kaunas during World War II.
The visas issued by Sugihara Chiune are today known as the ‘Visas for Life’. As the history of the ‘Visas for Life’ is well known both in Lithuania and in Japan, Sugihara Chine has been an important cornerstone of the friendship between Japan and Lithuania.
The history of Sugihara Chiune and the ‘Visas for Life’ can be learned here:
Related links
Minister Motegi sent a video message to the international conference ‘Beyond Duty – Visas for Life’ organized by the Government of Lithuania to commemorate the 80thy anniversary of the issuing of the ‘Visas for Life’
The video can be watched from here:
Minister Motegi, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, wrote an article, ‘Remembering the ‘Visas for Life’ and the bond of humanity on International Holocaust Remembrance Day’ on Jerusalem Post.
