Survivors and family members of the victims of a 2005 train derailment that killed 107 people in the western Japan city of Amagasaki held a memorial ceremony Thursday to mark 19 years since the accident.
Attendees gathered at a monument erected by West Japan Railway Co. to remember the victims where they paused for a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., the time when the accident occurred at the site in Hyogo Prefecture.
"We will continue our tireless efforts into the future" to ensure the safety of our operations, JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa said at the ceremony.
A total of 106 passengers and a driver were killed, while 562 people were injured in the accident.
All four former JR West presidents indicted on charges of professional negligence were acquitted.
The Penal Code has no mechanism for punishing organizations for such accidents, and the bereaved families have been calling for the enactment of a special law to penalize both corporations and individuals.
JR West is constructing a new facility to display train cars involved in the accident at a training center in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. It is expected to be completed around December 2025.
The accident occurred when a rush-hour commuter train on the JR Fukuchiyama Line derailed as it entered a curved section of track and crashed into a nearby condominium building. The train was traveling at a speed far exceeding the limit.
Around 320 people attended the memorial ceremony at the accident site and another location in Amagasaki where live streaming of the ceremony was provided.
