A Lesser-Known “Japanese Schindler”: Lieutenant General Higuchi Kiichirō

Higuchi Kiichirō (at front right) while stationed as a special agent in Vladivostok. (Courtesy of Higuchi Ryūichi)

Higuchi Kiichirō (front row, far right) during his time in Warsaw, when military officers of Japan and Poland developed strong bonds. (Courtesy of Higuchi Ryūichi)

Daniel Friedman (right), the son of a Jewish refugee who escaped using the “Higuchi Route,” meets Higuchi Ryūichi, professor emeritus at Meiji Gakuin University and grandson of the late Higuchi Kiichirō, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 15, 2018. (© Jiji)

Higuchi Kiichirō (front row, center), visiting the Karafuto Divisionin October 1944 in his role as commanding officer of the 5th Area Army. (Courtesy of Higuchi Ryūichi)

Higuchi Kiichirō (center), inspecting the tundra region of northern Karafuto (Sakhalin) as commanding officer of the 5th Area Army. (Courtesy of Higuchi Ryūichi)