A Wish to End Hunger from Wartime Experience in a Crypto Unit of the Author of Anpanman

Anpanman is the hero of a popular Japanese picture book series for kids. Its creator, Takashi Yanase (1919-2013), served in a crypto unit in the Japanese Army during WWII. I uploaded a short article in Japanese about his wartime career.
I found this by googling because I recently learned in a TV serial inspired by the lives of Yanase and his wife that what seems to be a childish episode (like giving out anpan, a sweet bun filled with red bean paste) is actually rooted in his deep desire to end hunger in the world.
Yanase's crypto unit did not go through intense combat during the war but suffered greatly by starvation. Yanase once said he wanted to convey the message that "you can end hunger by sharing and you can live together even with people you don't like".
The reversal of values following Japan's defeat in 1945 had a profound impact on Yanase. He said, "The one value that never gets reversed is devotion and love.... If someone is dying of hunger before your eyes, you give them a piece of bread. That is the starting point of Anpanman."

(Photo taken by my son in 2023.)