Kobe marks 16th anniversary of Great Hanshin Earthquake+

KOBE, Jan. 17 Kyodo -
The western Japan port city of Kobe and its neighboring cities commemorated
Monday the 16th anniversary of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake that claimed
the lives of 6,434, with many challenges remaining in the region.
Some 5,000 people, including those who lost family members or friends in the
disaster, gathered at a park in central Kobe to offer silent prayers at 5:46
a.m., the time the magnitude 7.3 quake hit the capital of Hyogo Prefecture and
its vicinity. Thousands of bamboo lanterns arranged in the shape of ''1.17''
were lighted in the park.
In a memorial address on behalf of the bereaved families, Masae Ogawa, 47, who
lost her mother in the quake, delivered a eulogy, reflecting on how her
neighbors were involved in efforts to rescue her mother.
''On that day, seeds of appreciation were sown in my heart. The seeds have
produced flowers. I would be happy if they turn to fruits and I can sow their
seeds in (the hearts of) others,'' she said, choking up with tears.
Kobe Mayor Tatsuo Yada offered condolences to the victims at the ceremony and
pledged to make more buildings quakeproof in the city to lessen the negative
effects of future earthquakes.
Also expressing his condolences, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said to reporters,
''As we never know when an earthquake of this magnitude could hit Japan, our
government aims to firmly tackle countermeasures against earthquake
disasters.''
But as the affected people are aging, the local governments of quake-hit areas
are confronting a host of difficult issues such as how to assist people who
were physically handicapped or lost their own homes in the disaster.
Kobe, the hardest-hit city, is also being urged to come up with a good way to
hand down the memories of the disaster to the next generation, as the ratio of
its citizens who have not experienced the earthquake has reached around 40
percent as of this month.
The Hyogo prefectural government and the Kobe city government last year
conducted the first survey of those who became disabled due to the disaster,
and certified 328 as persons with quake-caused disabilities under consideration
for assistance measures.
With the 20-year occupancy period for subsidized temporary housing provided to
survivors through local governments set to expire in a few years, measures to
enable such people to move smoothly are also required.
According to Hyogo Prefecture, about 48 percent of residents in temporary
housing were 65 years old or older as of November.
Various other memorial events were also held throughout the city and other
parts of Hyogo Prefecture, including the city of Ashiya and Awaji Island.
==Kyodo
2011-01-17 23:42:24