Local people on a small island off the coast of Hokkaido paid tribute Thursday to more than 200 victims of a deadly earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck a quarter of a century ago.
On Okushiri Island, where 198 people were killed or went missing, their relatives and local residents held a moment of silence at 10:17 a.m., half a day before the time the magnitude 7.8 quake occurred, on July 12, 1993. The observance was announced by a siren broadcast across the community through its public loudspeaker system.
In the evening, the islanders floated lanterns in the sea and lit 1,000 candles near a cenotaph for the victims.