Prince and Princess Akishino offering flowers at the Hyogo Prefectural Hall in Chuo Ward, Kobe.

　Prince and Princess Akishino attended the memorial ceremony held at Hyogo Prefectural Hall in Chuo Ward, Kobe City, on March 17. This was the fourth time in 21 years, since 1999, that the couple had attended a memorial ceremony for the earthquake. 　At the ceremony, Prince Akishino stated, "I hope that the experience and lessons learned from the earthquake will be passed on from generation to generation as we continue to build a safe and secure community," after which the couple laid flowers at the floral tribute stand. 　Prior to the ceremony, the couple met with five high school students who are working on disaster prevention based on the lessons learned from the disaster at the prefectural office. 　Photo: Prince and Princess Akishino offering flowers at the memorial ceremony at 0:46 p.m. on January 17 at the Hyogo Prefectural Office in Chuo Ward, Kobe City. Photo taken on January 17, 2020, the same day as the evening edition of "The Great Hanshin Earthquake Attendance at the memorial service for Prince and Princess Akishino on the 25th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake" appeared in the evening edition of the same day. CMYK"★