KOBE -- This city marked the sixth anniversary of the earthquake that resulted in the loss of 6,432 lives with prayers and remembrance services Wednesday, but also with a sense that the temblor is fading into history and that the recovery is almost complete.

Local kindergarten pupils plant trees in Kobe's Chuo Ward to mark the sixth anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.

At a ceremony in Chuo Ward, Hyogo Gov. Toshitami Kaihara said, "I believe that handing down what we have learned from the aftermath of the great quake to future generations and rebuilding a beautiful Kobe populated by people with hearts of gold is the only way to honor those who died."