Chugoku Region Marks Eighth Anniversary of 2018 Rain Disaster

Residents across the Chugoku region held memorial events on July 6, 2026, for victims of the 2018 western Japan rain disaster that killed over 300 people. Japan Times reported that the date marked the eighth anniversary of the first special heavy rain warning issued during the disaster. Flower-offering ceremonies took place in Okayama and Hiroshima prefectures.

In Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, where 75 people died, Mayor Kaori Ito offered flowers and a prayer at a memorial in the Mabi district. “It is our great responsibility, as those left behind, to pass on to future generations the aspirations of those who died, memories of the disaster and the lessons learned from it,” she told reporters.

Tomomi Ogura, a 53-year-old after-school child care worker whose home was destroyed by flooding, attended the ceremony for the eighth straight year.

Her son, a junior high school student at the time, later became a Self-Defense Force officer. In the Koyaura district of Saka town, Hiroshima Prefecture, residents observed a moment of silence. ” About 50 children from Koyaura Elementary School studied disaster prevention ahead of the anniversary.

Sixth grader Haru Sakamoto, who was three years old in 2018, said she checks evacuation shelters on a hazard map each year. Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui laid flowers at memorial stands in the city. “I want to use the disaster as a lesson to strengthen disaster preparedness across the entire community,” he said.

The 2018 rain affected 14 prefectures and caused 95 deaths in Okayama, 153 in Hiroshima and 33 in Ehime, including disaster-related deaths.