To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.
This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.
Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
Jiji Press/file photo Bereaved families offer flowers during a ceremony on Sunday to mark the anniversary of the torrential rains that hit Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Prefecture, in 2020.
Jiji Press
13:40 JST, June 30, 2024
Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto Pref. (Jiji Press)—Bereaved families and others on Sunday prayed for those killed due to heavy rain in Kumamoto Prefecture, southwestern Japan, four years ago.
Twenty people attended a memorial ceremony in the city of Hitoyoshi to mourn the victims of the rain disaster, which left 67 people dead and two others missing.
At the ceremony, Hitoyoshi Mayor Hayato Matsuoka said many people are still forced to live in temporary housing. “We will work toward reconstruction as soon as possible.”
Kiyoto Maruo, 75, who was head of a local fire company at the time, said, “I am committed to preserving the lessons from the disaster and contributing to the reconstruction of Hitoyoshi.”
“Even after four years, my sorrow remains unchanged,” Naomi Nishimura, 56, who lost her parents in the disaster, said after the ceremony.
In Hitoyoshi, 21 people died due to the disaster that occurred on July 4, 2020. Across Kumamoto, 424 people from 224 households were receiving reconstruction support, including living in temporary housing, as of the end of May, according to the prefectural government.
