It has been 26 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake on January 17th.
At the park in Kobe City, as a measure to prevent the infection of the new coronavirus, a memorial service began half a day earlier than usual so that participants could participate in a distributed manner.
At "Higashi Yuenchi" in Chuo-ku, Kobe City, an executive committee made up of citizen groups and Kobe City holds a gathering to commemorate the victims by lighting the lights on January 17th every year.
This year, as a measure to prevent the infection of the new corona, the executive committee started from 6 pm on the 16th, half a day earlier than usual, in order to avoid crowding and have them participate in a distributed manner.
Visitors offered a silence at 5:46 pm after the lights were separated from the "Light of Hope", which is said to be a memorial to those who died in the earthquake and wishes for reconstruction.
Then, I used candles to transfer the lights to the paper candles lined up with the letters "1.17" and "Ganbaro" on the bamboo candles.
A woman in her 70s in Kobe said, "I heard that this has been going on since the day before. When I come here, I can share my thoughts with you."
Shinichi Fujimoto, the executive committee chairman, said, "I wanted to turn on a small light for those who want to pray on January 17th. There are many people who can't come because they are scattered around the venue. I want you to pray in a proper way. "