10 Yrs On, 278 Kumamoto Quake Victims Remembered

Kumamoto, April 16 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held in Kumamoto Prefecture on Thursday for the victims in huge earthquakes that hit the southwestern Japan prefecture particularly hard 10 years ago. The April 2016 quakes claimed the lives of a total of 278 people in Kumamoto and neighboring Oita Prefecture, including deaths from indirect causes. Thursday marked exactly 10 years since the main shock occurred. The memorial took place at Kumamoto-Jo Hall in the prefectural capital city of Kumamoto and was cosponsored by the prefectural government and all municipalities in the prefecture. About 250 people, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara and bereaved families, attended the ceremony and prayed for the victims. All attendees observed a minute of silence just after 10 a.m. “We will never let the memory of the earthquakes fade away. We will pass it on to the next generation in a reliable manner as preparation for disasters that may occur at any time,” Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura emphasized in his speech. Four high school students, who were elementary school students at the time of the disaster, also delivered speeches. Of them, Hion Kurahara, 17, said, “I will live my life carrying in my heart the preciousness of life, the importance of mutual support and the power of connections between people, which I learned from the earthquake disaster,” vowing to continue to move toward realizing a society in which no one is left behind and a community where everyone can live with peace of mind.” In consideration of the burden on bereaved families, the speech by a bereaved family representative in the memorial ceremony was discontinued after 2023. A place was set up for the second consecutive year for interaction among bereaved families before the ceremony, with 14 people participating this year, according to the prefectural government. While the memorial service had been hosted by the prefectural government, this year it was cohosted with all 45 municipalities in the prefecture to preserve related memories and enhance disaster prevention efforts. Ikuo Kabashima, who served as governor at the time of the disaster, also attended this year’s ceremony. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]