A crowd of nearly 14,000 gathered at a park early Saturday to light candles in remembrance of those who died. As incense wafted through the air, the dark, chilly morning was pierced by a moment of silence at exactly 5:46 a.m.
"I lost my sister that day. For Kobe, we can never forget the quake, just as people in Tohoku will never forget 3/11," said Masahide Tanimura, 42, a former resident who attended the rites in the park with his family.
A separate, more formal, ceremony later in the morning was attended by the Emperor and Empress, and by former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama, who was in office when the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake hit and was widely criticized for the slow government response.