Lecture on Chiune Sugihara Postponed Over Safety Concerns; Current International Situation Cited As Factor in Decision

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:45 JST, March 30, 2026

A lecture about Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese diplomat who saved numerous Jewish people during World War II, has been postponed out of concern for attendees’ safety.

The lecture was scheduled to be held in April at Waseda University’s Okuma Auditorium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo. According to the university, the decision to postpone was prompted partly by the current international situation.

Sugihara (1900-86) was a Japanese diplomat stationed in Lithuania who issued “visas for life” to Jews fleeing Nazi persecution in Poland via Lithuania. Sugihara studied at an educational institution that was the predecessor to Waseda’s School of Education.

The lecture, scheduled for April 14 and organized by the “NPO Chiune Sugihara. Visas of Life,” was intended to commemorate milestones including the 40th memorial of Sugihara’s passing.

Planned speakers included a Polish child who arrived in Japan on a visa issued by Sugihara, as well as Sugihara’s grandson.

According to the university’s Communications and Public Relations Section, the decision was not prompted by pressure from external groups, nor does it represent support for or endorsement of any specific country, region or political stance.

“We deeply regret causing inconvenience to the organizers, who have been working on the arrangements and preparations,” the university said.

“There are situations in which giving a lecture about Sugihara could be viewed as pro-Israel,” said Prof. Chiharu Inaba of Meijo University, who researches Sugihara. “I suspect that they were concerned something might go wrong with security or other arrangements.”

“It’s sad that a cultural discussion is being twisted into an issue of international politics,” Inaba said.