Monument Unveiled to Mourn Victims of Karuizawa Bus Accident

May 28, 2018

Karuizawa, Nagano Pref.- A monument was set up in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, on Sunday to remember a total of 15 people on a tour bus who were killed in an accident on their way to a ski resort in January 2016.

Bereaved families of the victims--13 university students and two crew members--and other people mourn for them at an unveiling ceremony for the cenotaph set up near the accident site.

The monument's inscription reads: "We will never forget what happened on that day and pray for such an accident never happening again."

In the accident, the speeding bus fell over a cliff in a curved section of Route 18 in the central Japan resort town in the small hours of Jan. 15, 2016, killing the 15 people and injuring 26 others.

The ceremony was also attended by officials from local police and fire departments as well as bereaved family members of other tour bus accident victims.

"I don't want the children (the deceased students) to be forgotten," said Yoshinori Tahara, who lost his 19-year-old son, Kan, in the accident. Heading a group formed by the victim families, Tahara, 52, expressed hope that the monument will help promote safe bus operations.

In June 2017, the Nagano prefectural police referred the president of the tour bus operator company and others to public prosecutors on charges of professional negligence resulting in the deaths and injuries. Jiji Press