Japan remembers heroism of selfless Indonesian trainee

Thu, 10/30/2008 10:34 AM  |  Headlines

Wasji, from Cirebon in West Java, and his wife Saeni binti Cala (above) arrived in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday at the invitation of the Japanese national police to attend a ceremony commemorating their son's heroism.

Their son, Endang Arifin, who went to Japan in 2005 as a fisheries trainee through Indonesian company PT Puji Utami, died in August last year when trying to rescue two Japanese junior high school students who almost drowned in waves off Hyuga city, Miyazaki prefecture, Kyodo reported Wednesday.

When holidaying in Hyuga with a friend, Endang saw the two girls being swept away by waves. He instinctively plunged into the ocean to rescue them.

Although the Japanese students were able to reach the beach safely, 21-year-old Endang was swept away. His body was found two days later.

A former Japanese school teacher in Bandung and a group of Japanese exchange students have since made a documentary, Mas Endang (Brother Endang), in memory of the young man.

After the film was enthusiastically received in Jakarta and other Indonesian cities, it was shown in Osaka and four cities in Kyushu in May. -- JP

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