Sugihara issued over 2,000 transit visas to Polish and Lithuanian Jews from his consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania, in August 1940, in defiance of his own government (Japan), thereby allowing an estimated 6,000 individuals to escape the impending Holocaust.

It is based on an original one-act play by Tim Toyama, which was performed at The Road Theatre Company[2] in Los Angeles in 1995.

[4] Visas and Virtue won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in March, 1998 (70th Academy Awards).

[5] Haunted by the sight of hundreds of Jewish refugees outside the consulate gates, a Japanese diplomat and his wife, stationed in Kaunas, Lithuania, at the beginning of World War II, must decide how much they are willing to risk.

Inspired by a true story, Visas and Virtue explores the moral and professional dilemmas that Consul General Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara faces in making a life or death decision: defy his own government's direct orders and risk his career, by issuing life-saving transit visas, or obey orders and turn his back on humanity.