Victims Mourned 39 Years after JAL Jet Crash

Jiji Press

16:59 JST, August 12, 2024

Ueno, Gunma Pref. (Jiji Press)—Bereaved families and others went on a memorial hike to the mountainous accident site of the 1985 crash of a Japan Airlines jumbo jet, which claimed 520 lives, in eastern Japan on the 39th anniversary Monday.

The climbers followed a steep mountain trail to reach the crash site on the Osutaka Ridge, about 1,560 meters above sea level, in the village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo. They prayed for the deceased in front of memorial markers scattered along the way, with some saying that they were able to come “see” their loved ones at last.

In the accident, three teachers from Shinwa Girls’ Senior High School in the western Japan city of Kobe lost their lives on their way back after inspecting beforehand places to visit for a school excursion. On Monday, four women who were students of the school visited the ridge and spoke to the teachers before a memorial marker, “It’s been a long time.”

Kimi Ozawa, 68, who lost her husband in the accident, led the four in their memorial climbing.

In front of a monument for the victims that stands at the crash site, the former students made a video call through a smartphone with related people gathered at the school. One of the four women said, “By getting connected at this time, we can share (our experiences) with those who were not able to come to the mountain.”

Takeyuki Tanaka, 74, of Gose, Nara Prefecture, western Japan, lost his younger sister, Hitomi Yoshida, then 28, and her 3-month-old daughter in the accident. He offered his sister’s favorite beer at a memorial marker and said to her, “Your family is doing well.”

At 6:56 p.m. on Aug. 12, 1985, JAL Flight 123, a Boeing 747 carrying many people visiting their hometowns during the “Bon” summer holiday season, bound for the western prefecture of Osaka from Tokyo, crashed, killing 520 of the 524 passengers and crew members aboard. A faulty repair of the aircraft by Boeing technicians following a tail strike incident seven years earlier is said to have led to the crash.

A memorial service is scheduled to be held at a garden built at the foot of the Osutaka Ridge in the evening, with attendance of JAL President Mitsuko Tottori.