Victims Mourned 21 Years after Train Crash in Western Japan

Amagasaki, Hyogo Pref., April 25 (Jiji Press)–A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to mourn more than 100 victims of a fatal train derailment accident that occurred in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, exactly 21 years ago. Bereaved families and others, including those injured in the crash, paid tribute to the victims at the ceremony held by West Japan Railway Co., or JR West, at a memorial facility built near the site of the accident on the Fukuchiyama Line. JR West executives pledged to ensure safe railway operations. Before the ceremony, they observed a moment of silence near the accident site at 9:18 a.m., the exact time of the accident, which left 106 passengers and the train driver dead and 562 others injured. On April 25, 2005, a rapid train entered a curve at a speed far exceeding the limit and derailed on the Fukuchiyama Line, with the first and second cars colliding with a nearby apartment building. At around the same time on Saturday, a JR West train passed through the curve at a slower speed than usual, while an announcement pledging safe operation was made onboard. “Now that 21 years have passed, rather than focusing on the accident itself, we can shift our focus to how the experience of the accident is used,” said Yuko Fukuda, 42, from the Hyogo city of Takarazuka, who was injured while riding in the first car of the train, underlining the importance of utilizing lessons from the tragedy. Hiroshi Ueda, 71, from the Hyogo city of Kobe, who lost his second son (then 18) in the accident, criticized JR West President Shoji Kurasaka’s apology at the ceremony, saying, “the words of apology are the same every year.” Takayuki Nakamura, 62, from Itami in the prefecture, visits the site every year to mourn the victims, as he was working at a nearby funeral parlor at the time and was in charge of funerals for several victims. “It was painful to have meetings with the bereaved families at that time,” he said. “It is crucial to consider how we will pass the lessons from the accident on to younger generations,” he added. In December last year, JR West set up a facility to preserve the damaged train cars near its employee training center in Suita in Osaka Prefecture, western Japan. In addition to restricted access for bereaved families and other related personnel, the facility has so far been used for training by about 2,000 company employees. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]