Visas for Life

World Wat II broke out shortly after diplomat Chiune Sugihara was assigned to Lithuania. Nazi Germany occupied the western half of Poland and began persecuting the Jews. Lithuania was then annexed by the Soviet Union, and the Japanese consulate was ordered to close. Meanwhile, Jewish refugees who had fled Poland flocked to the Japanese consulate, requesting the issuance of Japanese transit visas. Chiune repeatedly sent telegrams to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs requesting permission to issue visas to the Jewish refugees, but received a final notice that the visas could not be issued. However, with only a month left until the departure deadline, Chiune decided to defy the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ orders and issued visas to the Jewish refugees…