Shigeo Tsutsui

Shigeo Tsutsui (1920-2014), was sent to China in 1940 as a pilot of the Japanese army. He was captured by villagers and sent to the Eighth Route Army in 1945 after landing in Shandong due to a mechanical error of the plane. According to Kenji Tsutsui, his son, he attempted suicide but was stopped by the Eighth Route Army, and he later changed his view of the world and joined the Eighth Route Army.

Tsutsui took part in training Chinese pilots and coached some of the pilots who flew in the parade at the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China on Oct 1, 1949.

His son said at the news conference on Wednesday: "Now my father has passed away. I believe that I will continue to carry with me my father's memory and dedicate myself to friendship between the two countries and peace in the world."