THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
January 17, 2023 at 14:52 JST
Chisora Obara, a girl who attends an art class, lights bamboo lanterns in the memorial service at Kobe East Park on Jan. 17. She takes part in the annual event every year because a student of the teacher who runs the class died in the Great Hanshin Earthquake. (Shiro Nishihata)
KOBE--People gathered at Kobe East Park in the city’s Chuo Ward early on Jan. 17 to pray for the repose of the 6,434 victims killed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake 28 years ago.
Visitors observed a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the moment the massive temblor struck the western port city in Hyogo Prefecture and surrounding areas in 1995.
Lanterns were arranged to spell out the word “musubu” or “bond” in Japanese.
Officials said they chose the character in the hopes of bringing together generations who experienced the disaster and those who did not, as well as disaster-hit areas across the nation and people’s thoughts.
The epicenter of the magnitude-7.3 quake was at the northern part of Awajishima island in Hyogo Prefecture.
The Japan Meteorological Agency measured a maximum 7 on the country’s intensity scale for the first time with the quake.
Three people remain unaccounted for, and 43,792 people were injured in the disaster. About 250,000 houses either partially or completely collapsed.
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