Memorial Held for World War II POW Breakout in Australia

Cowra, Australia, Aug. 5 (Jiji Press)--A memorial event was held Monday for an incident in which over 200 Japanese World War II prisoners of war died after attempting to escape from a camp in Cowra, Australia, 80 years ago.

The breakout incident, which also left four Australians dead, was re-enacted at the former site of the camp from just before 2 a.m., the time when the incident started on Aug. 5, 1944. About 600 people from Japan and Australia who attended the memorial event prayed for the victims.

In the cold winter weather of the Southern Hemisphere, participants showed how the incident unfolded--a blaze broke out at the former site of Japanese prisoners' barracks, and gunshots by Australian soldiers rang out to stop their escape.

At the time, Japanese soldiers were taught that becoming prisoners of war was a disgrace, the master of ceremonies explained to the audience.

Gordon Rolls, a 73-year-old Australian man whose father had been a prison guard at the camp, said that the event was a good opportunity for people to learn about the emptiness of war. He emphasized that this history must not be repeated, expressing hope that the story of the tragedy will be passed on to future generations.

Cowra Mayor Ruth Fagan said the event created connections between people, which will be a basis for building good relations between their countries.

Japanese Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasushi Hosaka said that the Japanese government will support efforts to stop the incident from being forgotten.

Motofumi Oda, deputy mayor of the city of Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, where there was a prisoners' camp during the war, also attended the event.

END