The Diplomat Who Wrote Thousands of Visas by Hand

Quick answer: What did Chiune Sugihara do in 1940?

As Japan's consul in Kaunas, Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara asked Tokyo for instructions and got constraints. He issued transit visas through Japan anyway, writing them by hand. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum records visas for 2,140 persons by early September 1940, with more people, mostly children, covered on them.

In 1940, Lithuania was squeezed between Soviet occupation and a Germany devouring Europe. Refugees understood what governments wouldn't say: the clock wasn't running, it was falling. Outside the Japanese consulate in Kaunas, a line formed of Jewish refugees, many from occupied Poland, some carrying destination papers tied to Curaçao. The paperwork was messy. The danger wasn't. Chiune Sugihara did what bureaucrats are trained to do and asked Tokyo for instructions. They came back as constraints: verify documents, confirm funds, follow procedure. Then he chose. He issued transit visas through Japan anyway, writing them by hand day after day as the consulate's closing approached. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum records 2,140 people with visas by the time he left in early September 1940, with more, mostly children, covered on them. The ink became a route across the Soviet Union to Vladivostok, then to Japan. He wasn't rebelling with slogans, John writes. He was rebelling with forms, using rules to untrap people.

Why it matters for leaders: Don't treat a rule as an alibi; if someone's future depends on your signature, move faster than your fear.

Q: Where did the visas lead?

A: Across the Soviet Union by rail to Vladivostok, by ship to Japan, and onward wherever a border would accept them.

Q: What happened to Sugihara afterward?

A: He was retired from Japan's foreign service in 1947 during a broad staff reduction, and Yad Vashem later recognized him as Righteous Among the Nations.

Read the full essay on Substack → https://heroespath.substack.com/p/the-diplomat-who-wrote-thousands

By John Fenzel, founder and CEO of Heroes' Path Foundation