1940-1945: Until 1940, the Japanese generals had a Jewish resettlement plan. It would simply move all Jews within the empire to Shanghai. Japan would work with American Jews to finance this plan while using their political influence to get US support. 1/x #28daysofSHJews

Well, with the signing of the Tripartite Pact with Germany & Italy to formalize military alliance in Sept. 1940, that plan went into the flames. Any hopes of keeping friendly relations with the US died. Inuzuka and Yasue were removed from their top positions. 2/x

Inuzuka was transferred to part-time work in the consulate in Shanghai. He continued his research on Jews and never missed an opportnity to promote his "Jewish expert" ideas for exploiting Shanghai's Jews. 3/x

Throughout 1940, Inuzuka tried different strategies to get Japan to support his plan for bettering relations with the US via Jews. He opposed Japan's tightening relationship with Germany -- the US had more to offer as Japan's trading partner. But he lost. 4/x

In October 1940, the Japanese government ordered all of its consulates not to issue new entry visas to refugees-- Japan was now at war. Transit visas were acceptable if refugees could show tickets for onward journey & pay 25 Yen. 5/x

This new policy allowed Japanese consul in Kaunas, Sugihara Chiune, to issue several thousands of transit visas to desperate Polish Jews in 1940. These Jews had no direction to flee the advancing German armies except toward Vladivostok. 6/x

What makes Sugihara's story "spectacular" is his willingness to be vague about how many transit visas he issued when he communicated with his superiors for permission. The # he issue was FAR above his colleagues across Europe. 7/x

Many Polish refugees, among them religious students and rabbis, took their papers to the Dutch consul for a stamp verifying that they were heading for Curaçao, a Dutch colony in the Caribbean to get the Soviets' permission to leave the USSR. 8/x

Then they went to Sugihara for a transit visa in Japan. Sugihara did not think twice whether or not they had entry visas anywhere. He stamped and stamped and stamped without keeping his superiors fully informed. 9/x

When those Polish Jewish refugees arrived in Japan with a transit visa from Kaunas and no evidence of further travel, the authorities suspected something was up. They reminded Sugihara of their orders for proper documentation and $ needed for landing in Japan. 10/x

Sugihara was fully aware of how his action was putting his superiors in a bind. They could not order Japanese shipping companies to deny passengers with Japanese visas -- the Soviets would then discredit the value of Japanese visas as means of getting people out. 11/x

By spring 1941, some 1,500-2,000 Polish Jewish refugees were stranded in Japan w/ nowhere to go (nonetheless helped by Kobe's Jewish community w/ $ from American Jewish orgs.). This was not a good look -- the Japanese authorities worried what the Germans might think. 12/x

Meanwhile, the US retaliated Japan's invasion of Southeast Asia in July 1941 by freezing all money transfers to Japan, including the American Jewish orgs'. Oops. 13/x

This move provided the needed pretext for Japan to say "Ok, we can't keep these Jews here. They're really going to be public burden." So they sent several shiploads of Polish Jewish refugees to Shanghai -- totally between 1,000-1,200. 14/x

Inuzuka was initially not happy -- the situation was chaotic in Shanghai-- but he had lost his influence. The Shanghai Jewish relief committee was able to press Inuzuka to accept the new arrivals. The other choice was to leave these Polish Jews on a ship, a la SS St. Louis. 15/x

Toward the end of 1941, no more new Jewish refugees arrived in Shanghai. The refugee community finally stabilized and properly evaluated for its needs. The real work for @TheJDC could finally begin. But then Japan decided to escalate tensions with the US... 15/15 #28daysofSHJews