KANAZAWA: Residents of areas affected by the Jan. 1 Noto Peninsula earthquake in central Japan offered prayers for the victims on Monday, which marked half a year since the disaster.

At the Ishikawa prefectural government office in Kanazawa, the capital of the quake-hit prefecture, Governor Hiroshi Hase and prefectural government staff offered a moment of silence for the victims.

“The state of emergency for the quake has not been lifted yet,” the governor told the staff. “Let’s go forward bearing in mind the feelings of those who died regretful deaths.”

The death toll of the magnitude-7.6 earthquake, including those who died due to causes indirectly related to the disaster, has reached 281.

Kyoko Kinoshita, a 62-year-old local resident, laid flowers and prayed for the victims near the Asaichi-dori morning market area in the Ishikawa city of Wajima, where damaged houses still remain in the aftermath of a massive fire triggered by the quake. She said she will never forget a classmate from high school who died in the disaster.

Sumi Hashizume, 75, who lives by herself in her partly damaged house in Wajima, said, “Although half a year has passed, reconstruction has not progressed at all.”

Hashizume explained that an empty house next to hers has been left severely damaged and she has asked the city to remove it. She has not been told when the house will be demolished, however.

“I’m scared about the house falling down, as I live alone. I hope it will be cleared up as soon as possible,” she said.

The first meeting of a reconstruction task force involving the central, prefectural and municipal governments was held in Wajima on Monday, when affected cities and towns requested support to accelerate the dismantling of damaged buildings with public funds and the rebuilding of livelihoods.

“Reconstruction has just started,” disaster management minister Yoshifumi Matsumura told reporters, pledging comprehensive support for affected people.

JIJI Press