Residents of areas affected by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake offered prayers for the victims on Monday, half a year since the disaster.
At the Ishikawa Prefectural Government office in Kanazawa, Gov. Hiroshi Hase and prefectural government staffers offered a moment of silence for the victims.
"The state of emergency for the quake has not been lifted yet," the governor told the staffers. "Let's go forward bearing in mind the feelings of those who died regretful deaths."