West Japan Railway Co (JR West) officials, survivors and relatives of victims of a fatal train derailment in 2005 in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, attended a memorial service on Tuesday.
On April 25, 2005, a speeding train on the JR Fukuchiyama Line jumped the tracks on a tight bend during the morning rush hour and plowed into a residential tower. The driver and 106 passengers died in the accident, which also left 562 people injured in Japan's worst rail disaster for four decades. It was determined later that the 23-year-old driver had been going over the speed limit on a curve because he was running late. The driver had been disciplined twice before the accident for running behind schedule.
Since the accident, a memorial service has been held each year, except for 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus.
JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa placed flowers at a monument bearing the names of the victims. Attendees observed a minute of silence at 9:18 a.m., the exact moment the derailment occurred on a section of the JR Fukuchiyama Line between Tsukaguchi and Amagasaki stations. About 300 people were present at the ceremony.
JR West has turned the accident site into a place of remembrance where visitors can pray for the dead. It has preserved part of the now-vacant condominium building and covered the location with a roof in 2018.
In the aftermath of the crash, four JR West executives were charged with professional negligence -- Shojiro Nanya, 72, Masao Yamazaki, 68, Masataka Ide, 78, and Takeshi Kakiuchi, 69. All four were found not guilty by the Kobe District Court.
Family members of the crash victims said JR West should have been held accountable for failing to take proper safety precautions such as installing an Automatic Train Stop (ATS) device that can stop a train from traveling too fast. The company's corporate culture of punishing employees for their mistakes was also harshly criticized.
But the court ruled that the four executives did not have proper opportunities to recognize the danger and that they were also not legally obliged to install such a device when the accident occurred.
In June 2017, an appeal filed by lawyers who served as prosecutors in the case was rejected by the Supreme Court.
© Japan Today
22 Comments
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wallace
I believe we have reached enough time that no more media articles are required.
smithinjapan
And not a single JR employee was found guilty or held accountable. Of course, they all blamed the dead kid driving the train, conveniently leaving out that they DEMANDED he speed to make up time, but hey. Good old J-justice.
falseflagsteve
Damn tragic. I used to catch that line when I lived in Hyogo, could well have been aboard that train.
Totally the fault of JR and the pressure they place on staff. These days, the whole area has daily delays which seem to effect the whole network, from Kyoto line to Osaka loop.
hooktrunk2
@Wallace Pretty callous comment imo. I bet there are plenty of newcomers who didn’t know about this the tragedy. I remember it well, but didn’t know the surprising legal results mentioned in the article.
I wonder how many ATS devices JR has voluntarily installed.
RIP to the victims.
Moonraker
Yes. So much for the stories you hear about apologies for being a minute late. Or a second early. I try to avoid JR actually.
kurisupisu
Even whilst passengers are getting off the train the announcements are that the doors are closing
Still, the same culture is apparent and the barriers that are erected along train platforms have the dual purpose of not only preventing passengers from falling onto the tracks but also to prevent the strict schedules from being messed up
falseflagsteve
Moonraker
Yeah, makes me laugh when I see those foreign articles about the trains here. I’d say 30% of the time there’s delays around here these days
wallace
hooktrunk
No, I don't think. I lived in Kobe then and used the train. The accident was tragic but there needs to be a limit at least by the media on these memorials 18 years ago.
What is callous is no JR accountability.
Moonraker
Some don't wanna hear it though, steve. They wanna believe the trains always run on time and JR is perfect.
obladi
Since we can never eliminate all human error, we have to focus on developing systems that function in spite of such error. Easier said than done. Easier to blame the individual.
Mocheake
Wow. Seventeen years already. May all the victims rest in peace. I write it every year and I still feel the same way that it's a shame that the driver is not included in the memorial. He was a different kind of victim but a victim nonetheless. The real culprits got off free and clear.
hooktrunk2
@wallace. No one is forcing you to read the article.
Mocheake
Eighteen years. I was never any good at figuring out the total of 2023 minus 2005.
桜川雪
Wallace:
You aren't forced to read the article if you're tired of the story. Some are tired of the whole 9-11 "who would have known bombing and giving "freedom" to other countries would get us bombed ourselves" story as well, but they can choose not to click on it
桜川雪
To clarify: the part in quotes is what they think, not me
wallace
To those who think I shouldn't post my opinion that would be censorship.
oyatoi
People on that doomed train entrusted JR with their lives and were sadly let down. When put to the test and when it really mattered, whatever safety margins existed simply weren’t up to it.
Not easy from the back seat of a chauffeured limousine.
garypen
That tragedy, and JR's culture and actions leading up too it, are taught to employees iand management n other countries' rail system training programs to help avoid such mishaps. (My son is a train driver.)
falseflagsteve
Garypen
In most countries the first thing is safety first at all times, sadly dint apply in this instance and look at happened..
Roten
I agree with Wallace on this. I remember the accident. I read the article to see if the magic 18 was significant in Buddhist ceremonies. Nothing magic about 18. Perhaps this would be more significant if it were 20 years, but why report on it each and every year? I find it odd that the picture at the head of the article seems to be all men. Why aren't women among those who are commemorating this accident? Perhaps, if someone is going to report the 18th anniversary anyway, they could comment on the lack of women at the ceremony. Condolences to all those who lost a loved one in this tragic accident.
hooktrunk2
We didn't say you shouldn't post your opinion. Ironically, YOU are asking JT to self censor themselves. Back on topic. RIP to the victims of this tragic accident.
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
Respectful farewell to the departed souls. Strength and courage to all their loved ones.