A memorial ceremony took place at Toyama College of Foreign Languages on Sunday to commemorate 15 years since the February 2011 New Zealand earthquake, which killed 12 students from the school. Around 100 people attended, observing a moment of silence at the time the quake struck.
The February 22, 2011, earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, resulted in 185 deaths, including 28 Japanese nationals. Among them, 12 students from Toyama College of Foreign Languages were killed while studying at a local language school when the building collapsed.
The Sunday ceremony featured a moment of silence at 8:51 a.m., the exact time of the quake, attended by bereaved families, current students, and staff. It returned to its pre-COVID-19 scale with about 100 participants.
Principal Hajime Minamijima said in a speech, "The grief over the loss of precious lives in the sudden disaster is beyond words. We'll engrave the unfulfilled wishes of each of them in our hearts and pass their stories on."
Afterward, Masatsugu Yokota, 70, who lost his 19-year-old daughter Saki, shared, "Seeing children the same age happily walking by makes my loneliness grow deeper. I want to see her again."
A local investigative body issued a report citing design flaws and other issues in the building collapse. Local police investigated but decided against criminal prosecution due to insufficient evidence.
The event served as a reminder to preserve the memory of the victims and pass on their stories as lessons.