Survivors, families of victims mark 20 yrs since JR West derailment
Survivors and families of victims of a 2005 West Japan Railway Co. train derailment offered prayers at an event marking the accident's anniversary on Friday, with some pledging to pass on lessons learned from the tragedy which killed 107 people.
At a memorial ceremony at the site of the accident in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, JR West executives and other attendees paused for a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., when the rush-hour commuter train crashed into a building 20 years ago and left 562 people injured.
JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa vowed at the ceremony, hosted by the company, not to let memories of the accident fade as more than 70 percent of its roughly 25,000 current employees joined the company after the derailment.
"Had we not caused the accident that day, (victims) would have lived lives full of dreams and hopes," Hasegawa said before a cenotaph at the site. "I can only offer my sincere apologies for the frustration of having had lives suddenly taken away."
Kentaro Kosugi, a Tokyo resident, who lost both his parents in the accident, said he wished they would have lived to meet his two children.
"I think there are 107 different ways of (feeling) sadness among the bereaved families," the 41-year-old said, referring to the number of fatalities.
JR West is building a facility in neighboring Osaka Prefecture to preserve train cars involved in the accident and the belongings of those who died, with its completion expected sometime in December.
The facility will be closed to the public in consideration of bereaved family members opposed to the display. It is planned to be open to families of victims, officials of transportation operators in charge of safety and those who were involved in rescue efforts.
The accident occurred when the seven-car train on the JR Fukuchiyama Line derailed as it entered a curve on the track and crashed into a nearby condominium building.
The train was traveling at around 116 kilometers per hour, far exceeding the 70 kph speed limit.
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.
Related coverage:
Kumamoto marks 9th anniversary of fatal quakes
Japan emperor explores his symbolic role in trips to mourn war dead
Victims of 1995 AUM sarin attack struggling with PTSD, survey shows
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Mainichi
24-07-2025
- The Mainichi
Toilet survey finds gender gap in Japan's restrooms
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Women lining up for restrooms at train stations and other crowded public facilities is a common sight in Japan, while men rarely queue. Some suggest it's because women need more time, but one user of ladies' rooms has found that men actually have access to nearly twice as many toilets. Manami Momose works as an administrative scrivener in Tokyo. Frustrated by the lineups, she looked into the situation and found that the majority of facilities around Japan allocate equal space to men's and women's toilets even though the former include urinals, compact toilets that allow more loos to be packed into a given area. Momose started a survey after an experience she had in the summer of 2022 at JR Kurashiki Station in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan, which she used when traveling as a fan of the Japanese male pop quartet Junretsu. At the station, there was a queue of about five or six women standing outside the ladies' restroom. After waiting her turn, she decided to count the number of toilets posted on an information board. She was surprised to learn that there were seven toilets including urinals for men, but only four for women. For the next three years, Momose continued to investigate the "gender gap" in restrooms at public transportation and commercial facilities she visited. If there were no information boards, she enlisted the help of her husband and male friends, or asked men who were there. According to Momose, the average male-to-female ratio of toilets of the 907 locations she surveyed by late June was 1.73 times higher for men than for women. Only 5 percent of all the facilities had more toilets in ladies' rooms. When she sent out messages on X (formerly Twitter) with hashtags such as #OnlyLongLinesForWomen'sRestrooms, she received many sympathetic responses such as "Women are being forced to wait." Another commentator said, "This is not right considering the ratio of the population," referring to a recent government estimate showing females outnumbering males in Japan by 3.3 million. "Women definitely are being made to wait because of fewer toilets. There should at least be an equal number for men and women," said Momose, 60. "Women might take longer than men as they must lower and lift garments or change sanitary napkins," she continued. "But this is a human rights issue that also affects health, and it isn't natural for women to have to put up with this." When asked why there is a restroom disparity at Kurashiki Station, a JR West official said, "The number of restrooms is designed based on a comprehensive consideration of the station's size and space." A representative of a transport operator in the Tokyo metropolitan area said the company allocates the same area for men and women and installs as many toilets as possible. As a result, there are more toilets for men. "We will continue to consider the best arrangement of toilets based on passenger feedback," the representative said. Atsushi Kato, president of Japan Toilet Labo., a nonprofit which provides educational activities on toilet-related issues, commended Momose's survey for drawing attention to the issue, saying, "It is important to make the problem visible." Kato added that toilets also need easy-to-understand instructions to alleviate crowd congestion, as well as enough space for people with bulky luggage. Toilets must be improved in light of social diversity, he said, bearing in mind not only female users but the increase in visitors to Japan as well as wheelchair and stroller users. "We must incorporate diverse perspectives and improve restrooms in response to social changes," Kato said. By Akane Murakoshi
Kyodo News
20-07-2025
- Kyodo News
FEATURE: Toilet survey finds gender gap in Japan's restrooms
TOKYO - Women lining up for restrooms at train stations and other crowded public facilities is a common sight in Japan, while men rarely queue. Some suggest it's because women need more time, but one user of ladies' rooms has found that men actually have access to nearly twice as many toilets. Manami Momose works as an administrative scrivener in Tokyo. Frustrated by the lineups, she looked into the situation and found that the majority of facilities around Japan allocate equal space to men's and women's toilets even though the former include urinals, compact toilets that allow more loos to be packed into a given area. Momose started a survey after an experience she had in the summer of 2022 at JR Kurashiki Station in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan, which she used when traveling as a fan of the Japanese male pop quartet Junretsu. At the station, there was a queue of about five or six women standing outside the ladies' restroom. After waiting her turn, she decided to count the number of toilets posted on an information board. She was surprised to learn that there were seven toilets including urinals for men, but only four for women. For the next three years, Momose continued to investigate the "gender gap" in restrooms at public transportation and commercial facilities she visited. If there were no information boards, she enlisted the help of her husband and male friends, or asked men who were there. According to Momose, the average male-to-female ratio of toilets of the 907 locations she surveyed by late June was 1.73 times higher for men than for women. Only 5 percent of all the facilities had more toilets in ladies' rooms. When she sent out messages on X (formerly Twitter) with hashtags such as #OnlyLongLinesForWomen'sRestrooms, she received many sympathetic responses such as "Women are being forced to wait." Another commentator said, "This is not right considering the ratio of the population," referring to a recent government estimate showing females outnumbering males in Japan by 3.3 million. "Women definitely are being made to wait because of fewer toilets. There should at least be an equal number for men and women," said Momose, 60. "Women might take longer than men as they must lower and lift garments or change sanitary napkins," she continued. "But this is a human rights issue that also affects health, and it isn't natural for women to have to put up with this." When asked why there is a restroom disparity at Kurashiki Station, a JR West official said, "The number of restrooms is designed based on a comprehensive consideration of the station's size and space." A representative of a transport operator in the Tokyo metropolitan area said the company allocates the same area for men and women and installs as many toilets as possible. As a result, there are more toilets for men. "We will continue to consider the best arrangement of toilets based on passenger feedback," the representative said. Atsushi Kato, president of Japan Toilet Labo., a nonprofit which provides educational activities on toilet-related issues, commended Momose's survey for drawing attention to the issue, saying, "It is important to make the problem visible." Kato added that toilets also need easy-to-understand instructions to alleviate crowd congestion, as well as enough space for people with bulky luggage. Toilets must be improved in light of social diversity, he said, bearing in mind not only female users but the increase in visitors to Japan as well as wheelchair and stroller users. "We must incorporate diverse perspectives and improve restrooms in response to social changes," Kato said.
![Podcast [English World] Episode 106: Japan unveils bear-shooting guidelines](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fenglish-kyodo.ismcdn.jp%2Fmwimgs%2F9%2F7%2F1200x%2Fimg_97cc681c930a56c4e21c005e413733e31873671.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Kyodo News
16-07-2025
- Kyodo News
Podcast [English World] Episode 106: Japan unveils bear-shooting guidelines
Can Japan's aging communities live safely alongside bears? Three Kyodo News reporters -- Junko Horiuchi, Ellessa Yamada and Eduardo Martinez -- talk about the growing issue of wild animals such as bears coming into contact with humans, and Japan's recent guidelines on emergency shooting of animals when they appear in populated areas. Listen as they discuss the environmental changes that have caused bears to enter human communities. Article mentioned in the podcast: Japan unveils bear-shooting guidelines for populated areas Kyodo News presents a bilingual podcast for English learners about the ins and outs of news writing and how to translate tricky Japanese phrases into English. Have fun listening to journalists discuss recent articles as they occasionally go off on unrelated tangents.
