Australia mayor visits Japan school as war tragedy leads to exchange

The Australian mayor from Cowra, home to a major prisoner of war camp during World War II, bonded with Japanese high school students in Tokyo on Thursday, welcoming the decades-long exchanges between the two communities that started following a tragic mass breakout attempt by Japanese internees.Known as the Cowra Breakout, the Aug. 5, 1944 escape attempt is the largest prison break staged in modern military history, with more than 1,000 Japanese prisoners launching an attack on Australian soldiers. Over 230 Japanese soldiers died as a result.Efforts to prevent such a tragedy from happening …READ FULL ARTICLE