「災害に強いまちづくりを」　犠牲の女児に黙とう―大阪北部地震４年

　大阪市などで震度６弱を観測した大阪北部地震から１８日で４年となった。ブロック塀の倒壊で小学４年の女児＝当時（９）＝が死亡した大阪府高槻市の市立寿栄小学校では、正門前の献花台に浜田剛史市長や同小校長らが花を手向け、黙とうをささげた。
　参加者は、地震発生時刻の午前７時５８分に合わせて黙とう。終了後、浜田市長は報道陣に「ご遺族に対して心よりおわびする。地震の教訓を重く受け止め、災害に強い強靱（きょうじん）なまちづくりを着実に進める」と語った。（2022/06/18-11:30）

Prayers were offered Saturday for an elementary school girl who was crushed to death under collapsed concrete block walls in a powerful earthquake that hit northern areas of Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, in 2018.
   At Juei Elementary School in Takatsuki, which had been attended by the girl, Takeshi Hamada, mayor of the city, and others laid flowers at an altar set up in front of the main gate of the school. They offered silent prayers for the victim at 7:58 a.m. (10:58 p.m. Friday GMT), the exact time the quake occurred four years ago.
   "I sincerely apologize to the bereaved family" of the girl, Hamada told reporters. "Taking the lessons from the earthquake seriously, we will steadily advance efforts to make the city more resilient to natural disasters," the mayor added.
   The June 18, 2018, quake measured up to lower 6, the third-highest level on the Japanese seismic intensity scale, leaving a total of six people dead. At the school, concrete block walls along its swimming pool collapsed and fell onto the girl, who was heading for the school.
   Following the incident, the Takatsuki municipal government is working on removing concrete block walls at public facilities in the city, planning to finish the work at local elementary and junior high schools by the end of March 2023.