Please view the main text area of the page by skipping the main menu.

2022 Rewind: Heroes and helpers honored in Japan

An alert convenience store worker who foiled a fraud attempt, a Vietnamese man who rescued a man from a swamp and four citizens who subdued a knife-wielding man on a bus were among those honored in 2022 for their virtuous acts. See the links below to revisit the noteworthy deeds of Japan's heroes, helpers and good Samaritans.

    * * *

    Can Do Trien shows the letter of gratitude written in Vietnamese at Shiga Prefectural Police's Koka Police Station in the city of Koka on Nov. 16, 2022. (Mainichi/Ririn Iitsuka)

    <<Japanese police thank Vietnamese man for rescuing senior stuck in swamp>>

    KOKA, Shiga -- Police in this western Japan city recently handed a Vietnamese man a letter of gratitude written in Vietnamese for rescuing an elderly man who was stuck in a swamp. Full story.


    Mariano Maryjane Tsunoda, left, and Yuya Ishida show letters of gratitude at Kasuga Police Station in Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Nov. 29, 2022. (Mainichi/Hyelim Ha)

    <<2 thanked by Japanese police for protecting lost 2-yr-old on nighttime street>>

    KASUGA, Fukuoka -- Two Fukuoka Prefecture residents have been thanked by police for protecting a 2-year-old boy who was lost and wandering the streets here in the middle of the night. Full story.


    From left, Daisuke Noguchi, Yoshiki Kobayashi, Masahiro Hosokawa and Hiroyuki Nomoto are seen with letters of gratitude at Saitama Prefectural Police's Kawaguchi Police Station on Aug. 23, 2022. (Mainichi/Ayako Hiramoto)

    <<Police thank 4 people for subduing man with knife on bus near Tokyo>>

    KAWAGUCHI, Saitama -- Four people have been thanked by police for preventing a potentially serious incident by subduing a man with a knife on a bus in this city north of Tokyo. Full story.


    From left, Masataka Hayashi, his daughter Hizuki and wife Mihiro are seen at Koiwa Fire Station in Tokyo's Edogawa Ward on July 2, 2022. (Mainichi/Ayumu Iwasaki)

    <<Fire station thanks Tokyo family who saved man's life with help of child's homemade map>>

    TOKYO -- A fire station here has awarded a letter of gratitude to a family for saving the life of a man at their Edogawa Ward home using a nearby portable defibrillator -- thanks to a map drawn by their elementary school-age daughter. Full story.


    Elementary school student Ruito Murai receives a letter of gratitude from Hyogo Prefectural Police's Amagasaki Kita Police Station chief Tadashi Hamada in the city of Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, on May 25, 2022. (Mainichi/Sanae Kameda)

    <<Japanese police thank 7-yr-old boy for protecting lost infant>>

    AMAGASAKI, Hyogo -- Japanese police thanked a second-grade boy in this western Japan city for protecting a lost 3-year-old child. Full story.


    Kusatsu Police Station chief Yutaka Kawaguchi, right, is seen after awarding Takeshi Ogura with a letter of thanks for helping a convenience store customer avoid being swindled, on Feb. 14, 2022, at Kusatsu Police Station in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture. (Mainichi/Kengo Suga)

    <<Japanese police thank convenience store worker for helping woman avoid fraud>>

    KUSATSU, Shiga -- An employee at a convenience store in Kusatsu, Shiga Prefecture, received a letter of thanks from local police on Feb. 14 after he helped stop a resident from being taken in by swindlers. Full story.


    Kazue Umino, center, receives a letter of thanks from Takashima Police Station chief Satoshi Nakagawa, right, in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, on Dec. 6, 2022. (Mainichi/Kengo Suga)

    <<7-Eleven worker in central Japan saves 93-yr-old from $2.3K e-money scam>>

    TAKASHIMA, Shiga -- Police have awarded a certificate of appreciation to a convenience store worker in this central Japan city for her efforts preventing a 93-year-old customer from falling prey to financial fraud. Full story.


    Gabriel Mawu, second from left, and three others are seen after being presented with letters of appreciation for capturing a monkey, in the city of Yamaguchi on Aug. 18, 2022. (Mainichi/Sawako Mori)

    <<4 Indonesian interns receive letters of appreciation for capturing monkey in Japan>>

    YAMAGUCHI -- Four technical intern trainees from Indonesia received letters of appreciation from the mayor of this west Japan city on Aug. 18 for capturing a Japanese macaque in the city's Ogori area, where monkeys had been attacking residents. Full story.


    Also in The Mainichi

    The Mainichi on social media

    Trending