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The government will present a letter of commendation to a Chinese exchange student who saved a 9-year-old Japanese boy from drowning in a river in September.
A government spokesman said Thursday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to invite 26-year-old foreign exchange student Yan Jun to his office in Tokyo next week and present him with the letter, Fuji TV reported.
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto presented Yan with a similar letter in September.
The incident happened on Sept 16 following a typhoon. A group of schoolboys had ventured out to take some photos of trains passing over a nearby bridge when the youngest, a nine-year-old elementary school student, lost his footing and fell into Osaka’s Yodo River, which was flowing dangerously fast as a result of the heavy rain.
The boy was unable to reach the riverbank and was quickly dragged downstream, his young friends powerless to help. In the strong current, the boy was swept some 350 meters downstream in a matter of moments. Yan was walking alongside the river at that precise moment and saw the boy struggling in the muddy water. He immediately dived in and pulled the boy to safety. Aside from a few minor cuts and bruises the boy was unhurt, as was his heroic rescuer.
© Japan Today
18 Comments
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rickyvee
i loved hearing this story in september, and i still love hearing it now. what a heroic and selfless act. leaders of both countries should take note.
Get Real
Increase the peace!
papigiulio
Yeah I wonder what happened to him. Why dont we see him on the TV more? A talento knows a new gyagu and suddenly is invited over for every food program and variety program, but a hero like this....A thank you letter and thats it......
gaijin6000
It's nice to see other people having common sense to help other common people, no matter what country they're from. Too bad other countries put country above their own citizens or other countries.
This was a selfless act that should be honored among heroes.
tokyo-star
Nice to hear.
Will this be reported in China though?
Tokiyo
Does it matter tokyo-star? Can't we just let good news be good news without bringing the shade throwing?
ohayo206
Shouldn't matter what his nationality is...the person should be commended for their actions. In this age, real heroes are far and few between.
pochan
What does this mean?
Ah_so
We do not see him anymore, because it happened in September. It was heroic but life moves on. What are you expecting we do?
captaincoolz
@tokyo-star I'm guessing probably not. I live in America and I watch CNN and read other news in Asia all the time, I haven't read or came across this story at all.
smithinjapan
It's a shame there's still a wee bit of politics in play with this story, but I am glad to see the man's heroism and actions have shown that we are all just human, and should respect and take care of one another. Good on the man, and good on the politicians for recognizing his actions.
Frungy
Nice to see that the Japanese government is officially showing some gratitude.
What particularly amuses me is the image of the grimace Hashimoto probably had on his face as he was forced to hand a letter of commendation over to someone Chinese.
OssanAmerica
Yan Jun is a hero by any national standard and deserves to be honored. Unless you can show us a link to a photo of Hashimoto grimacing at that moment your comment is pure prejudiced conjecture.
zabutonsenbei
I say they should pay his tuition until he graduates.
Fadamor
Common sense would have told this person that it was too dangerous to enter the water. What separates the heroes from the average citizen is when he/she attempts to save the life despite what their common sense is telling them.
CoconutE3
True hero! Thank you Mr. Yan for your righteousness & bravery!!
CrisGerSan
A wonderful sign of good will between all people, regardless of what their governments do. Well done!
Cheng34
That's a good news, I hope that guy would shed some light to anyone to China to fix their moral damage that the communists did to them since years ago. And I think that guy would give a chance for any Japanese and Chinese to fix their relationship with each another.