Japanese Companies Donate 5,100 Glasses For Ukrainian Refugees

JAKARTA - A Japanese eyewear manufacturer plans to donate 5,100 pairs of glasses to people displaced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Fuji Megane Co., which has supported refugees for more than 40 years, will distribute the glasses through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The glasses, which cover 1,670 pairs for children, will be given to beneficiaries after an eye check on the spot.

The dedication of the company based in Sapporo to help refugees comes from the experience of its 82-year-old president, Akio Kanai.

Born in Japan-controlled Sakhalin, Kanai was 2 years old when on August 16, 1945, a day after Japan surrendered in World War II, he fled to Japan's northern main island, Hokkaido, with his mother and older brother due to the progress of the Soviet Union's military in Sakhalin.

In a recent phone interview, Kanai said, "I want to help people in Ukraine," citing his experience as a refugee, as reported by Kyodo News June 19.

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 to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, dubbed the Nobel Prize for refugee support, from the UN refugee agency in 2006.

The prizes were given to individuals and groups who had taken extraordinary action to protect refugees.