KOBE -- Survivors of the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, which destroyed much of Kobe and its adjacent areas, have exhibited a great sense of solidarity with disaster victims worldwide.

Just four months after the Hanshin temblor, a major earthquake hit the Russian island of Sakhalin. Kobe residents sent more than 10 million yen along with emergency goods to quake-hit areas there.

Since this episode, the people of Kobe have sought to help many disaster survivors overseas.