At the Hyogo Prefectural Government building, officials offered silent prayers for the victims at 5:46 a.m., the time the magnitude 7.3 quake struck on Jan. 17, 1995, while a bell tolled 88 times, once for each city and town in the prefecture.

Citizens gathered at an amusement park in Kobe's Chuo Ward and lit about 6,500 candles in memory of the dead at the same time the quake hit.

The Japan Times Weekly: Jan. 24, 2004
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