Bereaved family members and government officials renewed their commitment Saturday to passing on to future generations their experiences and lessons learned from the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake as the Kansai region marked the 31st anniversary of the disaster.
Some have expressed concern over a decline in the number of memorial events as the years go by.
At a memorial gathering at a park in Kobe, participants lit bamboo and paper lanterns and offered a silent prayer at 5:46 a.m., the exact time the earthquake struck. The disaster claimed 6,434 lives.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.