Victims Mourned 20 Years after Train Derailment Accident in Japan

Amagasaki, Hyogo Pref., April 25 (Jiji Press)--Bereaved families and others on Friday mourned more than 100 people who died in a train derailment accident that occurred in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, 20 years ago. 

Kazuaki Hasegawa, president of West Japan Railway Co., reiterated the company's apology in a memorial ceremony for the accident that happened on its Fukuchiyama Line in 2005 and left 106 passengers and the driver dead and 562 others injured.

"On that day, we took away precious and irreplaceable lives," Hasegawa said in the ceremony at a memorial facility built at the site of the accident.

The company is firmly aware of the importance of not letting the memories of the accident fade away, Hasegawa said, while noting that many JR West employees are those who joined the firm after the accident.

"We will carve the tragedy of the accident and the preciousness of lives in our hearts and will do our best to pass on the facts, remorse and lessons of the accident to future generations," he said. The ceremony was joined by 343 people.

Before the ceremony, Hasegawa and other JR West executives offered a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., the exact time that the accident occurred 20 years ago.

On April 25, 2005, a rapid train entered a curve far exceeding the speed limit and derailed, with the first and second cars colliding with an apartment building near the Fukuchiyama Line.

JR West plans to complete a facility for preserving the train around December this year. It will not be open to the public but will be used for employee education.

Transport minister Hiromasa Nakano said at a press conference in Tokyo that the government will work to improve railway safety to ensure that people feel safe in using trains.

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