At one time, a basic principle of dealing with refugees was that international support could only be extended after they had crossed the border out of their homelands.

But in April 1991, about three months after becoming the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sadako Ogata realized that concept would have to change after she boarded a helicopter to observe the situation along the Iraq-Turkey border soon after the Persian Gulf War had ended.

She saw that ethnic Kurds who had rebelled for autonomy had been forced into the mountains after fleeing oppression from the Iraqi government.

Recalling that scene, Ogata, who died on Oct. 22 at age 92, said, "Geographically, the Turkish border served as a cliff. I thought that the only way to protect the refugees would be in their own nation (of Iraq) by establishing a refugee camp in a 'safe zone' created inside Iraqi territory."

Ogata decided to change how the UNHCR handled internally displaced people based on a deep-felt belief that the most important aspect of her job was to "protect those who were suffering and to relieve that suffering as much as possible."

The emphasis on helping humans without becoming caught up in rules and after considering the actual situation on the ground would lead Ogata to later argue for a new focus on human security, which can be considered the crystallization of her "real pacifism."

That pacifism was ingrained in Ogata from an early age.

She was given the name Sadako by her great-grandfather, Tsuyoshi Inukai, the prime minister who was assassinated by young military officers in an attempted coup on May 15, 1932. Ogata was 4 at the time, but the incident stuck with her for many years because she once said in an interview, "Since I was a child I held a strong feeling that 'the military is bad.' "

Coincidentally, her husband was the late Shijuro Ogata, who once served as a Bank of Japan executive director. His father, Taketora, was editor in chief of The Asahi Shimbun when he was also attacked by another group of young military officers at company headquarters in what has come to be known as the "Feb. 26 Incident" of 1936.

But in addition to pacifism, Ogata also developed a strong sense of pragmatism fostered during the time she spent in the United States. Her father was a diplomat and Ogata accompanied him to the United States when she was just 3. She would later receive a master's degree from Georgetown University and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley.

The combination of pacifism and pragmatism meant that whenever she faced a major decision she would emphasize the reason capsulized in political philosophy.

The creation of the safe zone in Iraq for the Kurdish refugees meant utilizing a multinational force, a radical departure for the UNHCR, which until then had avoided any contact with the military.

But she explained, "It is not the case of not depending on the military because it is the military, but of asking for help if they have a role to play."

While she often dealt with key officials of the U.S. government, including those in the White House, I still remember her muttering at a party hosted by the U.S. Embassy, "All they do is fight wars."

Her mixed emotions toward the United States may reflect the fact that her long background there had become an indelible part of her character.

Ogata was also not one to easily amend her views, regardless of what those higher up might say.

In 2012, a year after the Great East Japan Earthquake, tsunami and triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Ogata visited Egypt as the president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency. She was asked about the government's plan to export nuclear power plants.

"Is it acceptable to take technology that did not operate properly in one's own nation to another nation?" she asked bluntly.

Subsequently, she revealed that she had been taken to task for that remark from her superiors, but she added that she had not changed her view.

As a pioneering Japanese woman who was active on the global stage, Ogata encouraged younger generations to study abroad.

"Japan's education is uniform and of high quality," Ogata once said. "But too much emphasis has been placed on those aspects and that has created an educational system that is inadequate in fostering leaders."

In a time when populism is spreading around the world and greater divisions are appearing in various nations and societies, the real pacifism that Ogata had long pursued is needed now more than ever.

The loss of a compass for the international community in the form of "Madame Ogata" is a major loss not only for Japan, but also the world.

THOSE OGATA TOUCHED REMEMBER HER WORDS AND DEEDS

Tetsu Nakamura, 73, a doctor with Peshawar-kai, a nongovernmental group based in Fukuoka and involved in relief work in Afghanistan, released a statement.

"I feel as though a warm and large flame has been extinguished," he said.

Ogata was always cooperative in the group's efforts to construct irrigation ditches and other measures to rebuild farming villages in Afghanistan.

Nakamura said she also encouraged the group both through her actions and through actual cooperation.

One of the ambassadors to the United Nations, Toshiya Hoshino, was in the first group of students taking a seminar when Ogata taught at Sophia University in Tokyo.

He issued a statement that said Ogata "made every effort to maintain the lives of those facing difficult situations, to respect the character of each and every individual and to always be together with them."

Upper House member Kuniko Inoguchi said Ogata "was the star of hope for women." Inoguchi once served as ambassador for Japan's delegation to the Conference of Disarmament in Geneva.

"At a time when there were very few women working on the front lines of international society, Ogata experienced many difficulties and had to overcome an untold degree of problems," Inoguchi said. "But she never said to those women who came after her, 'I went through many more difficulties than you.' "