The city of Shimabara in Nagasaki Prefecture on Thursday commemorated the 43 victims of a deadly pyroclastic flow caused by explosive eruptions of Mount Unzen's Fugen Peak in 1991.
About 150 people and officials, including family members of the victims, Nagasaki Gov. Hodo Nakamura and Shimabara Mayor Ryuzaburo Furukawa, attended an official memorial service at the city's Nita Danchi Daiichi Park and offered silent prayers.
"We will continue our efforts to convey the threat of volcanic disasters to future generations so that disaster memories will not fade," said Sumi Omachi, 64, who represented the bereaved families at the service.