Overview
- Community volunteers and more than 100 elementary students crafted bamboo lanterns on January 10 to be lit at Higashi Yuenchi during the January 17 memorial.
- The ‘1·17 Hope Flame’ began its annual sharing on January 10 at Higashi Yuenchi, with about 20 groups participating that day.
- Roughly 100 middle school students transferred the flame into their own lanterns, describing the act as a way to learn from the disaster and prepare for future quakes.
- The NPO overseeing the flame reported around 50 groups registered for this year’s sharing and urged participants to carry the memory to families and friends.
- A section of the Kobe Luminarie installation at Meriken Park was found collapsed on January 11 during setup, with no injuries reported, and organizers cited strong winds and pledged reinforced safety while keeping the festival on schedule.