A London-based Japanese actor has created a short documentary film that sheds light on individuals who helped Jews escape from Nazi persecution as well as those who have worked to see that this history is passed on.
"There was a Japanese diplomat who issued visas in defiance of the Japanese government to allow thousands of Jewish refugees to travel to Japan via the former Soviet Union so they could escape from the Holocaust, and there was a man who escorted them from Vladivostok to enable them to head to the United States and other destinations via Japan," Junichi Kajioka says.
"I also learned about another man, Mr. Akira Kitade, who has been digging out the behind-the scenes stories. I wanted to visually document their efforts," Kajioka, 46, says.