15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

KOBE, Japan - A girl lights a candle with the help of her father to mourn the 6,434 victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, 2010, during a ceremony on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the disaster.

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

KOBE, Japan - People offer prayers for victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, 2010. They surrounded 6,434 candles, representing the number of people killed in the quake, during a ceremony on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the disaster.

Vigil in Kobe to mark 13th anniversary of Hanshin Earthquake

Vigil in Kobe to mark 13th anniversary of Hanshin Earthquake

ITAMI, Japan - A woman and her two children light candles at Koyaike park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16 as part of memorial events to mark the 13th anniversary of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, a magnitude 7.3 temblor which devastated the Kobe region on Jan. 17, 1995, killing 6,434 people, injuring 44,000 and flattening 105,000 houses

People pray for victims of Great Hanshin Earthquake

People pray for victims of Great Hanshin Earthquake

ITAMI, Japan - People light some 6,000 candles and pray for the victims of the 1995 Gread Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, the eve of the 7th anniversary of the quake which killed over 6,400 people.

Silent prayer offered for Kobe quake victims

Silent prayer offered for Kobe quake victims

KOBE, Japan - People offer a silent prayer for the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture on Jan. 16, the eve of the sixth anniversary of the earthquake.

People pray for victims of Great Hanshin Earthquake

People pray for victims of Great Hanshin Earthquake

ITAMI, Japan - People light some 6,000 candles and pray for the victims of the 1995 Gread Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, the eve of the 7th anniversary of the quake which killed over 6,400 people.

Vigil in Kobe to mark 13th anniversary of Hanshin Earthquake

Vigil in Kobe to mark 13th anniversary of Hanshin Earthquake

ITAMI, Japan - A woman and her two children light candles at Koyaike park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16 as part of memorial events to mark the 13th anniversary of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, a magnitude 7.3 temblor which devastated the Kobe region on Jan. 17, 1995, killing 6,434 people, injuring 44,000 and flattening 105,000 houses (Kyodo)

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

KOBE, Japan - A girl lights a candle with the help of her father to mourn the 6,434 victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, 2010, during a ceremony on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the disaster. (Kyodo)

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

15th anniv. of Great Hanshin quake

KOBE, Japan - People offer prayers for victims of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, on Jan. 16, 2010. They surrounded 6,434 candles, representing the number of people killed in the quake, during a ceremony on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the disaster. (Kyodo)

Silent prayer offered for Kobe quake victims

Silent prayer offered for Kobe quake victims

KOBE, Japan - People offer a silent prayer for the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995, at Koyaike Park in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture on Jan. 16, the eve of the sixth anniversary of the earthquake.