NASU, Tochigi -- A memorial ceremony for eight people who died a year ago Tuesday in an avalanche in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, was held on Tuesday at Nasu-Kogen Shizen-no-Ie, a facility near the site of the accident. The incident took the lives of seven high school students and one of their accompanying teachers during mountaineering training.
About 130 people, including students of prefectural Otawara High School, to which the victims belonged, and people related to the prefectural government, attended the ceremony. The ceremony was jointly held by the prefectural government, prefectural board of education and the prefecture's high school athletic federation.
The victims' families, however, had expressed their intention to skip the ceremony because it was decided "without consulting" them. Only one family attended the ceremony.
The ceremony's venue offered a panoramic view of Mt. Chausu where the avalanche occurred, and the attendants looked at the mountains while laying flowers. A flower stand was also set up at a nearby observatory, with many people visiting there from early morning.
Sadao Uda, the head of the prefectural board of education, delivered a speech, saying: "I offer sincere apologies for this terrible accident during the training session that was supposed to help students learn about safety. We will do our best to prevent such a tragedy from happening again and pledge not to forget this accident."
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