 Citizens mourn on 10th anniversary of Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake "My family was near this park when the great earthquake struck the area. In great astonishment, I shouted at my wife and son, 'Get out of the house!'," said Tainaka Isao, 64, recalling the jolt on the early morning of January 17, 1995. Tainaka said, "Kobe City appears to have been rebuilt during the last ten years. However, there are many vacant lots in many parts of the city, and many citizens find it difficult to make a living. True rehabilitation is still underway." Marking the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in which 6,433 people died, many memorial services were held on January 17 in public halls, cenotaphs, temporary housing facilities, parks, and vacant lots in Kobe and other quake-hit cities in Hyogo Prefecture. Pledging that the survivors will not be overpowered by the disaster, members from the Hyogo Council for Relief and Rehabilitation, the Japanese Communist Party, and citizens' groups called for further efforts to be made to establish a system of public assistance for personal compensation for the sufferers. At 5:46 a.m., the time people woke up with a jolt ten years ago, about 400 people in Kobe's Suwayama Park laid white chrysanthemums, and at the call of the Hyogo Relief Council joined in a minute of silence before the memorial. JCP Chair Shii Kazuo was among the 400 people participating in a ceremony, including the bereaved families, representatives of national and local governments, and political parties. The ceremony was sponsored by Hyogo Prefecture. Offering flowers, they shared the pledge in a declaration stating, "We will never forget how important our solidarity is." JCP Shii also visited the "Monument for Mourning and Recovery" in the San-no-miya district of Kobe, placed flowers, and mourned for the victims. (end) |