What was the Japanese Fugu Plan?

Originally (in the 1930s) this plan was the idea of a small group of Japanese government and military officials who saw a need for a population to be established in Manchukuo (a.k.a. Manchuria) and help build Japan's industry and infrastructure there. "Fugu" is the Japanese word for "blowfish"; why this name was chosen for the plan is not known.

Their decision to attract Jews to Manchukuo came from a belief that the Jewish people were wealthy and had considerable political influence. Thirty years earlier, an American Jew offered sizable loans to the Japanese government which helped it win the Russo-Japanese War. In addition, a Japanese translation of the book (known today to be a hoax written by the Secret Service of the Tsar) "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" led some people in the Japanese government to grossly overestimate the economic and political powers of the Jewish people. It was assumed in Japan that by rescuing European Jews from the Nazis, Japan would gain unwavering and eternal favor from American Jewry and they would be able to develop Manchuria economically.

As an outcome of the Fugu plan, about 14,000–15,000 Eastern European Jews were granted asylum in the Japanese quarter of Shanghai. A certain number of Jews was allowed to settle in Japan itself, in Kobe and Tokyo.Thus Japan, a Hitler ally, was among the only countries in the world who saved Jews during the Holocaust.