Photo/Illutration Flowers are offered at the Jan. 25 memorial ceremony for Tetsu Nakamura in Fukuoka. (Motoki Nagasawa)

FUKUOKA--Thousands of people, from ordinary citizens to a top diplomat, gathered here on Jan. 25 to pay their last respects to Tetsu Nakamura, the beloved doctor who was gunned down while doing humanitarian work in Afghanistan.

A long line formed outside the venue that displayed photos of Nakamura, 73, and the five Afghan men who were also killed in the Dec. 4 ambush.

A total of 2,400 seats were prepared at the chapel and classrooms of Seinan Gakuin University, but all were soon filled up, leading to the long line.

“The spirit and soul of Nakamura continue to serve as a large and strong existence within the hearts of all those who knew him,” Masaru Murakami, president of Peshawar-kai, a nongovernmental organization established by Nakamura in Fukuoka, said at the memorial ceremony.

Nakamura’s daughter, Akiko, 39, represented the bereaved family at the ceremony.

“While I was not involved in what my father did, I want to be of some help in my own way from now on,” she said. “I believe that would be one way of remembering him.”

As a trained doctor, Nakamura provided medical support to residents in the war-stricken region, but he was also deeply involved in irrigation projects in Afghanistan.

“He used the best period for him as a doctor for the sake of Afghans,” Bashir Mohabbat, the Afghan ambassador to Japan, told reporters after attending the memorial ceremony. “I want to thank him from the bottom of my heart.”

Hironatsu Hosoda, 31, a company employee from Sasaguri, Fukuoka Prefecture, said he had donated to Peshawar-kai because he was impressed by Nakamura’s belief that securing water for local residents was most important.

“While he may have been involved in projects that a doctor would not normally do, that becomes the roots for medicine. What he did was truly incredible,” Hosoda said.

A 31-year-old doctor from Fukuoka who did volunteer work in a developing nation when she was a medical student, said she frequently attended events in Fukuoka when Nakamura reported on his activities in Afghanistan.

“He lived quietly for the sake of others,” she said. “All of us must carry on his will.”

Peshawar-kai held a meeting before the memorial ceremony to confirm that projects in Afghanistan would resume once local safety has been confirmed.

But because it will likely be difficult for Japanese staff to remain in Afghanistan, a team of engineers will provide support from Japan.

(This article was written by Ryo Sasaki, Kaigo Narisawa and Amane Sugawara.)

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