Twenty years on to the day, Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa on Saturday recalled the terrifying moment a massive earthquake struck his hometown of Kobe and said he hopes charity soccer matches will continue to be held to commemorate the disaster that claimed the lives of over 6,000 people.
Kagawa was only 5 years old when the magnitude 7.3 Great Hanshin Earthquake hit the port city in Hyogo Prefecture, but the Borussia Dortmund midfielder says he distinctly recalls the early hours of Jan. 17, 1995, and the aftermath of the quake.
"I experienced the disaster and clearly remember the moment it happened and the events that followed. It was devastating," the 25-year-old said of the quake that awoke him when it struck at 5:46 a.m.