30 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

Today, the 17th, marking the 30th anniversary of the disaster, a memorial service for the victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was held at Otemae University 's Sakura Shukugawa Campus. A moment of silence was observed and prayers were offered for the souls of the 6,434 victims, including two Otemae University students and one Otemae College student.

Otemae Gakuen suffered severe damage in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, including the collapse of the main building of the Sakura Shukugawa Campus. However, the faculty and staff of the Otemae Educational Corporation, including Chairperson of the Board, the university President, and the junior college President, all joined in a memorial service in front of the memorial stone erected at the entrance to the first floor entrance hall of the rebuilt main building (Building A).

After the moment of silence, University President Mitsutoshi Hirano gave a speech, touching on his experience of an earthquake at his home 30 years ago, and the subsequent Great East Japan Earthquake and Noto Peninsula earthquake. He spoke of the importance of cherishing each and every day as people living in an archipelago prone to earthquakes, and of the generation that experienced the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake becoming storytellers. He also spoke of the recovery that was achieved thanks to the cooperation of local residents and those who supported the disaster, and how a recovery festival was held by students who were enrolled at the time after the disaster.

As a special feature of this year's memorial service, a video and photograph exhibition entitled "The Path of Otemae Educational Corporation 's Reconstruction" was held. This was an opportunity to look back on the situation immediately after the earthquake and the days when students, faculty and staff worked towards the reconstruction, and to once again understand that Otemae University and Otemae College overcame the devastating disaster and are what they are today.

We offer our deepest condolences to all those who lost their lives in the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

(Source: School Public Relations)