Hyogo Prefecture marked the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on Friday with memories of what happened, a desire to pass on the lessons learned to future generations and calls on the central government to use the Kansai region (where it is located) as the base of a new disaster relief agency.
The day began with a candlelight vigil in the city of Kobe and a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the time when the magnitude 7.3 quake struck on Jan. 17, 1995, killing 6,343 people. At a memorial later in the morning attended by Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, as well as central and local government officials including Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito, people shared their earthquake experiences and the lessons learned from it.
“On this day, as we mark the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, I would like to express my deepest condolences once again to the more than 6,400 people who lost their lives,” the emperor said in his address.
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