TOKYO - The Israeli Embassy is donating 300 Anne Frank-related books to be divided among Tokyo public libraries to replace those vandalized.
Representatives from the embassy and Japan’s Jewish community presented some of the books to the mayor of Tokyo’s Suginami ward at a news conference Thursday.
More than 300 books related to Anne Frank, including copies of The Diary of a Young Girl, have been found damaged in Tokyo libraries, according to the latest tally. Suginami was particularly hard hit, with 121 books vandalized. Police established a task force this week to investigate the case.
The mayor of Suginami expressed hope that the incident could be turned into a lesson for Japanese who are not aware of the Holocaust.
“Through this incident, I believe that people also learned about the horrid facts of history and of racism, and with this knowledge, I hope that our people were given an opportunity to reflect on the preciousness of peace,” Mayor Ryo Tanaka said.
Front Section, Pages 7 on 02/28/2014