Japanese People gathered in Kobe and surrounding areas Monday morning to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake with a series of events to remind people about the lessons learned from the deadly disaster.

Early Monday, participants in a memorial service at Higashi Park in central Kobe lit about 6,500 candles, forming the shape of ''1-17,'' and observed a moment of silence at 5:46 a.m., the time the temblor struck the southern Hyogo Prefecture region Jan. 17, 1995.

The candles represented the 6,433 casualties of the magnitude 7.3 quake and the more than 100 others who later died from indirect causes.

Kobe Mayor Tatsuo Yada told the gathering that the major quakes that rattled Niigata Prefecture in late October and the Indian Ocean tsunami disaster in late December -- whose death toll now stands at more than 160,000 -- are reminders of threats ''inherent in nature.''

He said Kobe is working on sharing information with other parts of Japan and the rest of the world about its experience of the quake and the recovery process to help them deal with catastrophes.

''When I wonder what we can do, I realize the importance of communicating with more people regarding our firsthand experiences and the lessons we have learned from them,'' Yada said.

''During the 10 years since the disaster, I have joined hands with the citizens of Kobe on our earnest walk down the road to revival,'' he said.

Later in the day, Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are scheduled to attend one of the numerous memorial events in Kobe along with Yoshitaka Murata, state minister in charge of disaster management.

Tomiichi Murayama, who was prime minister at the time of the quake, and senior Diet members will also take part in the ceremony, along with representatives of the Hyogo prefectural government and bereaved families.

Various events to offer prayers for the dead are taking place throughout the prefecture, including multiple locations in Kobe's Nagata Ward, which was largely demolished by the quake and ensuing fires.

People also gathered in the morning in the town of Hokudan on Awaji Island, close to the epicenter, and at a shopping arcade in Nishinomiya, east of Kobe, where a clock's hands have remained pointed at 5:46 since the temblor, in memory of the day that changed their lives.

In addition, about 5,000 people are expected to join memorial walks in southern Hyogo Prefecture along routes that were taken to evacuate people and to deliver relief supplies to evacuation facilities soon after the quake destroyed public infrastructure and virtually choked the life out of the area.

In the afternoon, an international symposium to discuss ways to better prepare for natural disasters will be held on Portopia Island in Kobe as a precursor to the World Conference on Disaster Reduction scheduled from Tuesday to Saturday.

The emperor and empress will attend the opening ceremony Tuesday of the U.N.-organized disaster-reduction conference, while Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will take part in a conference session Tuesday, according to Japanese officials.

Source: Agencies