The subject of the popular children's song "Akai Kutsu" ("Red Shoes") may have died many years ago, but she remains very much a symbol of friendship and a driving force behind charity events.

The sad song portrays Kimi Iwasaki, who was separated from her mother and adopted by American missionary Charles Huit and his wife when she was 3 years old.

The song, which has been sung by nearly all Japanese during their childhood, describes the girl, clad in red shoes, leaving Yokohama by ship with a foreigner.