Photo/Illutration People believed to be related to the Russian Embassy in Japan board a Russian government aircraft at Haneda Airport on April 20. (The Asahi Shimbun)

Actor Toshiaki Karasawa plays a young diplomat whose dream of being assigned to the Japanese Embassy in Moscow is shattered when the Soviet Union declares him "persona non grata," Latin for "an unwelcome person."

The 2015 Japanese film's protagonist is real-life Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara (1900-1986), who was sent to Lithuania, instead, to help establish the Japanese consulate general there.

Had he received his coveted Moscow posting, he would have never saved thousands of European Jews from Nazi persecution during World War II by issuing them what came to be known as "visas of life."

Incidentally, the film's title in English is "Persona Non Grata."

The term has a long history.

In medieval Europe, anyone who was deemed acceptable to take holy orders in the eyes of the church was referred to as "persona grata."

In the 19th century, the term persona non grata (PNG) came to be used in the context of diplomacy or international affairs to refer to persons deemed to be "unacceptable."

By declaring a foreign diplomat PNG, a country can bar them from entry or order their expulsion without providing a reason.

On April 20, eight Russian diplomats and others made their hasty departure from Japan. They had been declared PNG by the Japanese Foreign Ministry in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a news report, a young girl boarded a bus for the diplomats, hugging a stuffed animal. The bus headed to the airport while soul-stirring music played.

So-called "tit-for-tat" exchanges are common in diplomacy. During the Cold War, for instance, the Soviet government limited the travel radius of foreign diplomats stationed in Moscow to 40 kilometers.

The Japanese government reciprocated by applying the same limit to Soviet diplomats stationed in Tokyo but made exceptions for the popular tourist destinations of Nikko and Hakone.

Mutual diplomat expulsions are continuing between Russia and European nations.

Had Russia not invaded Ukraine in the first place, this unusual amount of diplomat expulsions would never have had to happen.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 21

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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