In this seminar, Prof. Inaba of Meijo University will talk about the Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900–1986), focusing on his humanitarian efforts to save Jewish refugees by issuing them transit visas to Japan during World War II, despite orders from his government not to do so.

In the summer of 1940, Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, issued a large number of so-called ‘Visas for Life’ for Jewish refugees, most of whom had fled Poland after its occupation by the Third Reich and the USSR. In the end, it is said that he rescued around 6,000 people from the Holocaust. His humanitarian act was made possible by the cooperation of several diplomats from other countries, who also took significant risks. Amongst these, the support of the British diplomat, Sir Thomas Hildebrand Preston, was particularly significant.

About The contributors

Dr Chiharu Inaba
Chiharu Inaba is a Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Urban Science, Meijo University, and previously an Associate Professor of International Relations at the same faculty. He has also been a Visiting Professor at numerous international institutions, such as the East Asian Center, Haifa University and the Department of World Culture, Helsinki University. His research interests include the history of international politics and Russo-Japanese relations. His recent publications include “Military Cooperation during the First Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-1905)” in Nichirosenso saiko: Gunjito gaikono shitenkara (Rethinking the Russo-Japanese War from military and diplomatic viewpoints), ed. Chiharu Inaba, Yokohama: Seibunsha, 2025, and Chiharu Inaba, Yad Vashem no okani: Sugihara Chiuneto Holocaustkara yudayajinwo sukutta hitobito (On the Hill of Yad Vashem: Trees of Chiune Sugihara and Righteous among the Nations), Yokohama, Seibunsha, 2024.