12 years after the eruption of Mt. Ontake, 60 bereaved family members attend memorial service at the foot of Mt. Ontake

On the 27th, which marked 12 years since the eruption of Mt. Ontake (3,067 meters on the border between Nagano and Gifu prefectures), which left 58 people dead and five missing, a memorial service for the victims was held at Matsubara Sports Park in Otaki Village, Nagano Prefecture, at the foot of the mountain. The bereaved families offered a moment of silence at 11:52 a.m., the time the eruption occurred.

The memorial service was hosted by the prefecture's Kiso town and Otaki village, and was attended by about 60 people, including the deceased's bereaved family and local officials. The bereaved families placed white chrysanthemums on a flower stand and joined hands to pray for the souls of the victims.

Regarding the eruption, the bereaved families filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the national government and Nagano Prefecture, alleging that the climbers were killed and injured because the Japan Meteorological Agency failed to raise the alert level, but the suit was defeated by the Supreme Court in January of this year. The head of the Japan Meteorological Agency attended the ceremony for the first time in 11 years and stated, ``We will continue to work tirelessly to provide more accurate information.''

Hiromi (68) of Azumino City, Nagano Prefecture, who lost her husband Izumi Noguchi (59 at the time), was interviewed after the ceremony and said with tears in her eyes, ``Everyone has died in the past 12 years, and I'm all alone.'' At home, he said, he always says to Izumi, ``I wish we could be together wherever we go.Will you take me somewhere?''