A monument commemorating two men who died trying to rescue a drunken man who fell off a train station platform and onto the tracks, was unveiled Sunday in Tokyo, with the families of the two in attendance.
Lee Song Dae and Shin Yoon Chan of South Korea, the parents of Lee Su Hyon, a student of Japanese, and family members of Shiro Sekine, a photographer from Yokohama, attended the unveiling ceremony at JR Shin-Okubo Station.
Mutsutake Otsuka, president of East Japan Railway Co., was also present.
After the participants offered flowers and silent prayers in front of the monument, Otsuka said in a speech that the selfless act of the two men has strengthened his resolve to make railroad operations safer.
Lee's father, who placed flowers on the platform where his son died, said, "My heart is swelled with grief when I visit this place."
The monument, a dark bronze plaque 55 cm long and 75 cm wide, is attached to a wall in the station. The plaque bears a statement written in Japanese and Korean: "Here we commemorate the noble spirit and courageous act of the two men forever."
On Jan. 26, Lee, then 26, and Sekine, who was 47, jumped onto the tracks at Shin-Okubo Station to rescue Seiko Sakamoto, a 37-year-old plasterer from Saitama Prefecture. The three, who were strangers to each other, were all killed by a rush-hour train.