Illumination festival in memory of 1995 quake victims lights up Kobe

KOBE -- The 25th "Kobe Luminarie" light show to commemorate victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake got underway in this western Japan city's Chuo Ward on Dec. 6.

The festival has been held annually since 1995 in December after the disaster struck on Jan. 17 that year. This year a booth where high school students tell stories passed down from survivors to visitors has been introduced for the first time.

The booth was established with cooperation from students of Hyogo Prefectural Maiko High School in Kobe's Tarumi Ward, which introduced the first course in Japan to learn about disaster prevention in 2002.

Visitors can view the illumination and hear stories from the students until Dec. 15.

(Japanese original by Yuichi Nakagawa, reporting from Kobe)