A memorial ceremony was held Wednesday to mark the seventh anniversary of a deadly train derailment in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, attended by about 1,100 survivors, victims' next of kin and officials of West Japan Railway Co..
At 9:18 a.m., the time the speeding commuter train jumped a tight curve and slammed into an apartment building on April 25, 2005, the participants offered silent prayers for the 107 victims during the ceremony held at a public hall about 2 km from the accident site. The crash claimed 106 passengers and the driver, and left 562 others injured.
Mitsuko Fujisaki, 72, who lost her 40-year-old daughter in the crash, offered flowers at the site and said: "I want (JR West) to transform itself into a company that is truly free of such accidents. I hope the company will make good use of my daughter's death," referring to a number of accidents and scandals involving the railway in the past year.
