Bereaved family members of the 1985 Japan Airlines (JAL) jet crash victims look at lanterns and candles making the numbers "8.12" on a riverside in the east Japan village of Ueno, Gunma Prefecture, on Aug. 11. Ahead of the 36th anniversary of the accident that killed 520 passengers and crew members on Aug. 12, 1985, victims' family members placed LED lanterns beside the Kanna River, which flows at the foot of the Osutaka Ridge, where the plane crashed. A ceremony to float lanterns down the river was canceled last year due to the spread of coronavirus infections, but this year, participants prayed for the victims in a substitute event. Family members' messages attached to lanterns included: "Dear Dad in heaven; We are doing well amid the coronavirus pandemic. Please keep watching over us."

       (Japanese original by Hinako Kikuchi, Maebashi Bureau)

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