Kobe to Hold “Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 1.17 Gathering” 28 Years After the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake – Kobe Keizai Shimbun

　The “Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 1.17 Gathering” is currently being held at Higashi Yuenchi (6 Kano-machi, Chuo-ku, Kobe City), a city park in Sannomiya.

1.17 Lights of Hope

　The event is held annually to commemorate the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake and to pass on to the next generation the importance of the “bond of friendship and mutual support” and “kindness and consideration” that were fostered by the disaster. This year marks the 28th anniversary of the earthquake.

　Since the day before the earthquake occurred on January 17, bamboo and paper lanterns with various messages written on them were arranged in the park in the shape of “1995 Musubu 1.17.” At around 5:00 p.m., participants lit the candles inside, and at 5:46 p.m., the first moment of silence was held.

　At 5:46 p.m. on January 17, when the earthquake occurred, a second moment of silence will be observed by all participants, followed by words of condolence and flower offerings by the bereaved families and Kobe Mayor Kizo Hisamoto at a flower offering station around the “Monument of Memorial and Reconstruction.

　From 15:00 to 19:00 on the 17th, a silent memorial service will be held at 17:46 at “Hibiya Park Small Concert Hall” in Tokyo.

　The word “1.17” will be added to the “KOBE” illuminated at night at Dotokuyama in the Rokko mountain range on January 10, and will remain lit until the night of January 17.

　A woman who said she suffered from the disaster at her home in Kobe City when she was in her 20s said, “I used to participate in the event every year before the new Corona epidemic. When I learned that the scale of the event would be returned to what it was before the Corona disaster this year, I visited the event for the first time in three years. Some people have become close friends because of the new coronas, but many have drifted apart. I feel as if the character “Muzubu” on the lanterns has pushed me to get in touch with people this year,” he said.

　The “Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 1.17 Festival” will be held until 9:00 p.m. on January 17.