A solemn dedication ceremony was held at Waseda University on October 24 marking the 25th year since the passing of Sugihara Chiune, a former Waseda alumnus who has famously been referred to as the “Oskar Schindler of Japan.” In commemoration of the occasion and in remembrance of his actions, a monument stone depicting Sugihara’s visage in bronze relief was unveiled on the lawn between Buildings No. 11 and No. 14.
A host of foreign dignitaries, as well as representatives from the Japanese government and notable leaders from the business world were among those in attendance during the event. Attendees included Waseda University President Kaoru Kamata; representing Israel were Matan Vilnai, Minister for Home Front Defense of Israel, and Nissim Beng Shitrit, Ambassador of Israel to Japan; Dr. Jadwiga Rodowica-Czechowska, the Ambassador of Poland; Dr. Albertas Aligirdas Dambrauskas, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Japan; distinguished members of the Japanese parliament; family and relatives of Sugihara Chiune; members of the Sugihara Chiune Inochi no Visa (“Visas of Life”) Organization; and the Tomon Sugihara Chiune Kensho-kai (Alumni Association Honoring Sugihara Chiune) which was established by members of the Waseda University Alumni Association.
In 1918, Sugihara enrolled in the First English Preparatory Program at Waseda University’s Advanced Teacher’s College. The following year in 1919 saw Sugihara withdraw from Waseda University to study abroad at the Nichiro Kyokai Gakko (Russo-Japanese Association School) on a government scholarship. This would eventually lead to a career in the diplomatic services. During the Second World War, he was appointed to serve in the Japanese Consulate of Kaunas in Lithuania. Extremely moved by the desperate plight of Jewish refugees escaping from the persecution of Nazi Germany from across Europe including Poland, Sugihara issued thousands of transit visas to Japan to those who were able to see him against the orders of his own Ministry of Foreign Affairs. His actions are estimated to have saved the lives of over 6,000 people.
The monument was made possible through the generosity and efforts of the Tomon Sugihara Chiune Kensho-kai (Alumni Association Honoring Sugihara Chiune). Sugihara’s own words are inscribed on the granite monument and serve as a poignant message to be read by generations of students passing through the gates of Waseda University. The inscription reads, “I made the decision I made not as a diplomat, but as a human being. I did what I believed was just and right.”
*The English names of all organizations mentioned are provisional translations
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