Until he was released from the Foreign Service/八百津町

Until he was released from the Foreign Service

Just before the train that carried Sugihara, his wife Yukiko, and their children from Kaunas to Berlin left, Sugihara finished writing the last visa. He waited a few days for instructions for his next mission, and in September 1940 was appointed to the consulate general in Prague. Soon after that, on September 27th, the Tripartite Pact was signed between Japan Germany and Italy. Half a year late, in March 1941, a consulate was opened in Konigsberg, which was close to the German-Soviet border, and Sugihara was transferred there so he could send information about the Soviet Union to Japan. In December the same year Japan attacked Hawaii and Southeast Asia, and the whole world was plunged into the Second World War. Sugihara was sent to the legation in Bucharest in Rumania, and he was there in May 1945,when he heard of Germany's surrender, and in Au-gust of Japan's defeat.

Sugihara and his family on the train from Kaunas to Berlin (September 5th, 1940)

Sugihara and his family on the train from Kaunas to Berlin (September, 1940)

Upon his return to his homeland, a recommendation to resign from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awaited Sugihara

WWII ended on August 15th, 1945. In November 1946, after spending over a year in a POW camp in the suburb of Bucharest, Sugihara and his family finally started their journey back home. However, it was a long and painful journey and about five months later, in April 1947, they eventually arrived in Japan. Two months later, in June, Sugihara was summoned to the foreign office and was asked to resign with the excuse that there was no position available for him. After that, he worked different jobs trying to make a living, and his act of humanitarianism was not widely known for a long time.

The notice of retirement from the Foreign Ministry

Family photo taken in Bucharest, which became the last destination of Sugihara as a diplomat

Opening Hours / 9:30 - 17:00 Closed Days / The Memorial Hall is closed on Mondays. If a national holiday occurs on a Monday, the Memorial Hall will be closed on the following Tuesday. Closed on New Year’s Day
※Closed on the following day after holidays and carry over holidays More information

Yaotsu-cho, Yaotsu 1071, Kamo-Gun, Gifu-Prefecture, 505-0301
TEL:0574-43-2460 FAX:0574-43-2460