He was not charged because of lack of evidence, but his bravery won the respect of the Chinese workers who treated him as a brother. His new friends introduced him to a Chinese woman who later became his wife.

Yamasaki settled down and opened a clinic and the couple lived a very humble life as he often treated poor patients without charge.

After the founding of New China in 1949, he heard a radio broadcast from Chairman Mao Zedong who welcomed all friendly foreigners to stay in China. Yamasaki says his heart was lifted.

He found a job in a public hospital but always passed on any salary increase opportunities to others.

The reserved doctor didn't talk much with others, including his own family. Even his daughter knew nothing about her father's past until the 1970s, after accidentally hearing Yamasaki talking to a Chinese man whom he helped 40 years ago.

Despite his humanitarian efforts, the quiet old man can never forget the Chinese people's suffering caused by Japanese invaders.

In 1976, four years after China and Japan normalized diplomatic relations, Yamasaki went back to Japan for the first time, after being away for more than 40 years.

Although his overjoyed Japanese family found a position for him in a local hospital, he told them China had become his home.

"I have lived in China for more years than in Japan, I must go back to China," he told them.

That year, when Yamasaki heard his hometown in Japan Shuku Takimoto was seeking to establish a friendship city relationship with Jinan, he returned to China ahead of schedule to help make the plan a success.

He wrote to then Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone Yasuhiro about the issue and received his handwritten reply.

With his contribution, the two cities became friendship cities in 1983 and the government of Shuku Takimoto sent him a thank you note.

"This is the only good thing I have done during my life," Yamasaki says smiling.

Actually, he has done more than he says. The selfless doctor donated books and medical equipment he bought in Japan to a library and a hospital in Jinan but didn't bring anything from Japan for his family.

He believes that the best way to make up for the guilt caused by the Japanese invasion is to "do more good things for the Chinese".

Through his personal atonement, he has won the hearts of patients. Some families have even visited him for generations.

Every year, Yamasaki donates his pension given by the Japanese government to Chinese in need.

He helps Chinese students study Japanese without charge and has cleaned the public space of his apartment building for more than 20 years.

Due to his old age, the frail doctor has started to lose his memory, and most of his Japanese relatives have passed away.

Fewer and fewer people know about Yamasaki's past, but he never forgets to "atone for guilt".

The Chinese Green Card holder even signed a form to have his body donated to science when he dies, mapping out his one last goal.

"By donating my body, I won't feel bored in the future because I know I can serve the people after my death," he says.

(China Daily 07/07/2009 page20)