KOBE -- Some 30 people who were forced to leave Kobe and other parts of Hyogo Prefecture after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake gathered here Thursday for the first time to share their experiences during and after the temblor.
The gathering was organized by Machizukuri Shien Kyokai (the Association to Support the Creation of Towns and Communities), an Osaka-based nonprofit group that has been supporting people unable to return to their homes after the quake, which hit Kobe and its neighboring areas Jan. 17, 1995.
Mitsuko Nakanishi, secretary general of the NPO also known as Flexlife, said with many displaced survivors growing old, it is important to bolster ties between them.