Chinese foster parents after WII honored in Japan  

日本鹿儿岛县举行石碑揭幕仪式 感谢中国养父母

Screenshot of a video on the website of NHK.

Screenshot of a video on the website of NHK.

(ECNS) -- A monument set up by Japanese war-orphans to honor Chinese foster parents was unveiled in Kagoshima city of southwest Japan on Thursday, Kyodo News Service reported.

The 2.4-meter-high stone monument was erected in Tenpozan Park, bearing the words "Deep gratitude again to Chinese foster parents who have given helping hands, and may friendship between Japan and China last forever."

The monument was proposed by Kenichiro Onitsuka, a representative of a group of Japanese war-orphans who returned to Kagoshima Prefecture from China after they became adults.

Onitsuka also expressed gratitude to Chinese foster parents at the unveiling ceremony. He said that many Japanese children died from hunger or disease in China when they were left behind after the end of World War II. But some, including himself, survived under the care of Chinese couples, who adopted them and raised them as if they were their own children, according to the website of NHK.

The Tokyo-based Japan-China Friendship Association said monuments honoring Chinese foster parents are uncommon.