CME Group Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed Helps Honor the Humanitarian Acts of Chiune Sugihara in Japan

CHICAGO, June 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today released the following statement:

"CME Group is pleased to announce that Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed is traveling to Japan the week of June 30, to participate in various activities organized to honor the humanitarian acts of Chiune Sugihara.  Sugihara, the late Japanese diplomat who served as Vice-Consul for Japan in Lithuania from 1939 to 1941, is credited for facilitating the escape of thousands of Jewish refugees by issuing them transit visas so they could find refuge in Japan during World War II.  One of those refugees was Mr. Melamed, who as a young boy captured in Poland by the Nazis, escaped the Holocaust with his parents through Siberia to Tsuruga, Japan.  He will return there for the first time to participate in the celebration honoring Sugihara.  While in Japan, Mr. Melamed will be meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Ms. Caroline Kennedy.  Sara Bloomfield, Director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. will join Mr. Melamed in the ceremonies to mark this historic event and represent the 6,000 refugees saved by Sugihara."

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Background on Events to be Held During the Week of June 30 Honoring Chiune Sugihara:

• Tokyo: Mr. Melamed will first go to Tokyo where he will participate in various meetings, including with Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday, July 1 and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, on Monday, June 30.  He will also speak at a ceremony held in remembrance of Chiune Sugihara, at the Waseda University that will also be held on June 30.
• Tsuruga: Mr. Melamed will then travel to Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, where he is scheduled to meet with Mr. Kazuharu Kawase, Mayor of Tsuruga City; and Mr. Tsuyoshi Takagi, Senior Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.  He will also take part in a tree-planting ceremony at Tsuruga City Hall on Thursday, July 3.

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SOURCE CME Group