RAID IN JAPAN

Grey River Argus, 17 March 1945, Page 5

RAID IN JAPAN

Heavy Death 'Roll ENDANGERS ALLIED PRISONERS. (Rec. 10.40). NEW YORK, March 16. A Tokio broadcast admitted there has been heavy loss of life and damage through the recent raids ,by Superfortresses on Japanese cities. Tokio ‘Asahi” said that the number of deaths -in Tokio, Nagoya and Osaka during the week could never be called small. A special civilian attack corps has been organised in Japan for home defence, following Government warnings that an invasion was expected. The Cabinet has decided to evacuate the civilians from th e five biggest cities. (Received March 16, 7.50 p.m.). WASHINGTON, March 15. The Associated Press Agencj r stated: The U.S. State Department has repeatedly protested against a' Japanese pra'ctice of locating prisoner of war camps in target areas, but has not received a satisfactory reply. An American Red Cross Far Eastern representative, John Cotton, said there were at least six Allied prisoner of war camps in the Osaka area, including one in the heart of the city. He added: “Our Superfortress crews know the location of these camps, but there is a' very good chance that some have been hit during our recent bombings.’” Mr Cotton estimated that there are between 8000 and 10,000 Allied prisoners in Osaka, comprising American, British and Dutch. There are also several camps in the Tokio area.