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“US-Japan Dialogue on POWs” enters into its 6th year!
The response has been most heartening. Since its launch, this website has been accessed nearly 200,000 times and now boasts an average of 4,000 visits a month. It is accessed by visitors from around the world. I am pleased that website visitors from the US are matched in number by visitors from Japan. Next year may become an exciting one for all of us. Thanks to years of dedication and effort by Dr. Lester Tenney, a survivor of the Bataan Death March and forced labor in Japan who was the last National Commander of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor, the Japanese government is now considering an invitation program for former POWs and their families in the United States. It is my sincere hope that the sharing and dialogue I tried to promote through this website will be expanded to real life exchanges. I look forward to the opportunity to report on many such exchanges between the people of the United States and Japan. I would like to thank our Directors and the Tokyo Representative and Advisors, whose support continues to be a source of great inspiration and encouragement for me.
Lastly, I would like to acknowledge and thank former POWs and their family members
for sharing their personal stories and support. I would like to congratulate the "US- Japan Dialogue on POWs" for thoughtfully pursuing justice for these brave men, especially for my friend Dr. Lester Tenney. I look forward to working with the US- Japan Dialogue to bring some peace of mind to these POWs in the coming year. On behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and our Museum of Tolerance, I wish to congratulate the 5th anniversary of the "US-Japan dialogue on POWs" website. The website has succeeded in promoting tolerance and mutual understanding by remembering the most difficult times of the past. May this website inspire thousands more on both sides of the Pacific to reach out to each other by learning from past history.
Rabbi Abraham Cooper |