August 6, 2019

Opening of special exhibition "Beyond Duty: Diplomats Recognized as Righteous Among the Nations"

The Chiune Sugihara Sempo Museum held an opening ceremony on July 31 for its special exhibition "Beyond Duty: Diplomats Recognized as Righteous Among the Nations". The exhibition, held jointly with the Israeli Embassy, honors nine wartime diplomats whose courageous actions rescued thousands of refugees from annihilation in the Holocaust. It has traveled to 20 nations in 70 languages. Tokyo will be its last stop in Japan.

Israeli Ambassador Yaffa Ben-Ari, herself the daughter of a Holocaust survivor, gave a moving speech, including special words for Sugihara. "Chiune Sugihara ignored the risk to himself and his family to help Jewish refugees who had fled Poland," she noted. "He had no reason to reach out to these people, who were total strangers to him. But he ultimately decided to follow not the orders of his government but the dictates of his heart, saving a great many lives."

The ceremony was covered by NHK, Bloomberg and other domestic and foreign media.

We express our great appreciation to the Israeli Embassy for allowing us to co-host this important event. We also wish to extend special thanks to Ambassador Martin Tomčo of the Czech Republic for attending the ceremony as well as representatives of the German Embassy, Swedish Embassy and Polish Cultural Institute in Tokyo.

"Beyond Duty" will run through September 1 (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Details can be found at http://en.sempomuseum.com/.

We look forward to seeing you.