The Lecture by Ambassador Miyoko Akashi, the first resident Japanese Ambassador to Lithuania, was held in the presence of H.E. Mrs. van Vollenhoven and Mrs. Roels, the wife of the Minister, at the conference hall of FUJIFILM Head Office on 15 October. Fifty five members and their guests attended. Lithuania was once a Kingdom in the 13th century and then became a Grand Duchy in the 15th century. Thereafter Lithuania was drawn into the historical flows of Europe. When it was attacked by the Soviet Union in 1940 the Japanese Consulate was flooded with asylum seekers asking for visas where Deputy Consul-General Mr. Chiune Sugihara kept issuing them the so called “visa for life” with the help of a Dutch diplomat named Mr. Zwartendijk. This collaborative deed of the Japanese and the Dutch diplomats in Lithuania gave birth to the bond of friendship among these three countries, i.e., Japan, the Netherlands and Lithuania. To learn the history of Lithuania has given us a new perspective on Europe. After the lecture over a light lunch we had a nice exchange of thoughts with Ambassador Akashi, a member of de Liefde Club.