TOKYO -- Ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9/11 this autumn, Kazusada Sumiyama, whose son was killed in the 9/11 attacks on the United States, plans to publish a Japanese translation of the full text of a report issued by The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States.
Sumiyama, 83, who lives in Tokyo's Meguro Ward and is father to Yoichi Sugiyama, a bank employee who died aged 34 in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, has launched the crowdfunding campaign to cover publication expenses. Though he is not proficient in English, he became determined to publish the translation out of the belief that "understanding a society that gave rise to terrorists can end terrorism." He has completed the work almost entirely on his own.
Yoichi worked at a branch of Fuji Bank, now Mizuho Financial Group, in the World Trade Center's south tower, and died in the buildings' collapse after hijacked planes were flown into them.
Sumiyama visits the former site of the World Trade Center almost every September. Although he bought a copy of the 9/11 report released by the independent commission of the U.S. Congress in 2004, he reportedly abandoned it because he felt that reading over 500 pages of English was more than he could handle.
But in around 2008 he heard baseless information being cited in Diet session questions, and began to think that reliable sources were necessary. It prompted him to read the report closely with the help of dictionaries and his wife Mari, 81, who is conversational in English. While a Japanese translation of the report has been published, it provides only a summary of events and omits parts on Islam. Sumiyama said that he felt a full translation is needed to understand the background of the events.
Sumiyama also said that bereaved families suffered hardship such as coming to terms with the twists of fate that meant some survived and some died in the attacks, even depending on how people in the same buildings fled from their location after the first plane hit the north tower. He said he found the stories "graphic and moving."
The full translation of the report was nearly complete in 2018, following some 10 years' work overcoming language barriers from translating the unfamiliar names of military organizations, government posts, and others, with the assistance of associates in and outside Japan. He also wrote a commentary running around 300 pages.
Although its publication prospects initially came to a halt, Korocolor Publishers representative Takayoshi Kise offered to publish the translated report by raising money for expenses via crowdfunding, and found a translation supervisor for Sumiyama. They aim to publish the translation and commentary in two separate volumes.
Sumiyama aims to crowdfund 1.5 million yen (about $13,710), and the campaign continues until June 25. Donations can be made at https://ift.tt/2SFYtnJ
Sumiyama said: "It is an indispensable document for learning why the incident occurred. It also contains sections that should be used for reference in Japanese society as well."
In 2003, Sumiyama published "The Songs of Ground Zero," a poetry anthology in honor of his son.
(Japanese original by Ken Aoshima, Tokyo City News Department)
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