Memorial Held for Fatal Osaka School Attack 25 Years Ago

Ikeda, Osaka Pref., June 8 (Jiji Press)--A memorial service was held on Monday to mark the 25th anniversary of a knife attack at an elementary school in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, that left eight children dead.

About 760 people attended the ceremony at Ikeda Elementary School, affiliated with Osaka Kyoiku University, including bereaved relatives, pupils and school staff.

In the ceremony, eight bells were rung and silent prayers and flowers were offered at a monument inscribed with the names of the children who lost their lives in the attack.

"We will become the ones who build a society where everyone is safe and secure," three sixth graders said in an address at the ceremony.

Noting that they are passing on the school's safety initiatives to younger students, they said, "We will never let the incident 25 years ago fade from memory."

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]