Countries & Regions
Courtesy Call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by Mr. Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group
On July 1, commencing at 3:15 p.m. for approximately 15 minutes, Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe received a courtesy call from Mr. Leo Melamed, Chairman Emeritus, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) Group (Note: Mr. Melamed went to the United States via Japan in 1941 after receiving a “visa for life” issued by Chiune Sugihara), who is visiting Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. (Attending on Chairman Emeritus Melamed’s side were his wife, Mrs. Betty Melamed, Ms. Sara Bloomfield, Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Dr. Izumi Kazuhara, Executive Director, Head of Japan, CME Group. Attending on the Japanese side were Mr. Hiroshige Seko, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Tsuyoshi Takagi, Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Mr. Keiichi Katakami, Director-General, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and others).
1. At the beginning, Prime Minister Abe welcomed Chairman Emeritus Melamed to Japan, and said he understood that Chairman Emeritus Melamed was called “the founder of the financial futures market” and established a financial futures market in Chicago, U.S. In addition, Prime Minister Abe said he was again reminded that a precious life was saved as a result of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara’s “visa for life.”
2. In response, Chairman Emeritus Melamed said nothing that he could have done was possible without the actions of Chiune Sugihara, who saved him and the 6,000 refugees, and that he was the righteous of Japan and the most important person in Japan’s history.
3. Following that, Prime Minister Abe said he had heard that Chairman Emeritus Melamed landed in Japan at Tsuruga City, and Chairman Emeritus Melamed said Tsuruga Port was the “Port of Humanity” and that he would never forget the inspiring moment and the warm welcome he had received from the citizens of Tsuruga City at that time.
4. During the courtesy call, views were also exchanged on Japan’s economic policies, cooperation between Japan and the U.S. in futures trading and other topics.