Meeting with the Tsuruga delegation (Octobrt 15, 2022)
On Saturday, October 15, Consul General Saito welcomed Mr. Takanobu Fuchikami, Mayor of the Japanese city of Tsuruga, as well as the president of the city council Mr. Masato Fukutani and the Tsuruga delegation to the Consulate General of Japan in Montreal offices. Consul General Saito portrayed the unique characteristics of Quebec, then discussed ideas and opinions about promoting exchanges between Tsuruga and the province of Quebec. On October 14, the group had visited the Montreal Holocaust Museum and heard testimonies from Holocaust survivors, recounting the aberrant conditions of the ghettos in which they were segregated. During World War II, Tsuruga was the first city to which Jewish refugees immigrated via the Eurasian continent and the Sea of Japan, as they fled Europe on visas issued by Consul Chiune Sugihara, from the Consulate General of Japan in Lithuania. Since then, the city of Tsuruga and the Jewish community have continued to maintain close ties of friendship.