Japan firm supporting refugees to donate glasses to war-torn Ukraine
Fuji Megane Co., which has been supporting refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.
The glasses, which include 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to the beneficiaries following an onsite eye examination.
The Sapporo-based company's dedication to helping refugees stems from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai.
Born in Japan-ruled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on Aug. 16, 1945, the day after Japan's surrender in World War II, he, fled to Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido along with his mother and older brother due to an advance by the Soviet military on Sakhalin.
In a recent telephone interview, Kanai said, "I want to support people in Ukraine," citing his experience as an evacuee.
Fuji Megane has supported refugees around the world since 1983, donating a total of 180,000 pairs of glasses to people in countries such as Thailand, Nepal and Azerbaijan.
Kanai became the first Japanese person to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the U.N. refugee agency in 2006. The prize honors individuals and groups that have taken extraordinary actions to protect refugees.
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