Victims Remembered 10 Years after Inland Quake in Iwate, Miyagi

June 14, 2018

Kurihara, Miyagi Pref.- A memorial service was held on Thursday to mark the 10th anniversary of a powerful inland earthquake in Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, northeastern Japan, in 2008 that left a total of 23 people dead or missing.

The ceremony, held in the Miyagi city of Kurihara, which was hit hard by the temblor, was attended by some 300 people, including bereaved relatives.

"I've never forgotten that day, even for a moment," Akio Sugawara, 62, who runs a hotel in a spa resort, said at the service, representing the relatives who lost their loved ones. "Ten years have passed, and I think this year marks the beginning (of reconstruction) in a true sense," he said.

"I'll continue to live while cherishing the bonds between families and community members, who will mutually support one another in times of disaster," he added.

In a speech, Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai said, "Promoting holistic disaster prevention measures is the best way to pay respect to those who died in the quake."

Ahead of the ceremony, a siren sounded in the city at 8:43 a.m. (11:43 p.m. Wednesday GMT), the time when the quake struck 10 years ago, and citizens offered silent prayers to the victims.

The giant quake mainly struck the two neighboring prefectures in the Tohoku region on June 14, 2008, measuring upper 6, the second strongest on the 10-point Japanese seismic intensity scale, in Kurihara and the city of Oshu in Iwate. Seventeen people were killed, and six went missing, due to accidents such as landslides and rock falls.

Although the reconstruction of damaged roads and other infrastructure has been almost completed, entry is still restricted at certain areas in Kurihara due to heavy damage. Jiji Press