Victims Mourned 8 Years after Western Japan Rain Disaster

Kurashiki, Okayama Pref./Hiroshima, July 6 (Jiji Press)--Residents across the Chugoku western Japan region on Monday mourned over 300 people who lost their lives in a devastating rain disaster that mainly hit the area in 2018.

Monday marked the eighth anniversary of the issuance of the first special heavy rain warning in the disaster.

Flower-offering ceremonies were held in various parts of Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures in the region to honor the victims, including those who died due to indirect causes.

In the Okayama city of Kurashiki, where 75 people died, Mayor Kaori Ito offered flowers and a brief prayer at a memorial event in the city's Mabi district, one of the areas hardest hit by the disaster.

"It is our great responsibility, as those left behind, to pass on to future generations the aspirations of those who died, memories of the disaster and the lessons learned from it," she told reporters.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]