The city of Maizuru in western Japan is the host town for the national Olympic wrestling and judo teams of the central Asian country of Uzbekistan. The ties between Maizuru and Uzbekistan date back to the end of World War II, when about 575,000 Japanese were interned in many parts of what was then the Soviet Union. Some of them were sent to Uzbekistan. They helped to build the Navoi Theater, in the country's capital city of Tashkent. The theater is greatly loved by the Uzbek people. Maizuru was where many former Japanese POWs could once again stand on Japanese soil. The host town program enables the young people of Japan and Uzbekistan to learn about the culture and history of each other's country -- including the unexpected historical link between them. This is helping them to develop new forms of cultural exchange.