Commemorating Past Disasters Together, Building Future Resilience ～ JICA Kansai Mission’s Visit to Türkiye ～

From February 4 to 11, a delegation from JICA Kansai, together with Prof. Murata from Kansai University, and representatives from Kobe’s Sun TV, visited Türkiye to participate in the commemoration of the 2nd anniversary of the February 6 earthquake.

As 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the people of Japan’s Kansai region share a deep understanding of the grief and challenges faced by Türkiye. With three decades of experience in recovery and reconstruction, they came to share their knowledge and express their solidarity.

The mission paid a courtesy visit to Kahramanmaraş Metropolitan Municipality and met former JICA training participants working on recovery efforts. Besides they visited the Umut (Hope) Container Village, met residents and observed reconstruction sites. They also paid tribute at the graveyard of earthquake victims on February 6, offering condolences from Japan.

On February 7, a Memorial Symposium was held in Bursa in collaboration with Bursa Governorship, AFAD, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and JICA. Prof. Murata delivered a keynote speech on “Disaster Management Planning for the Next Generation”, drawing lessons from the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. Experts from AFAD and Bursa Metropolitan Municipality also presented their disaster preparedness and urban resilience initiatives.

The mission also attended the third Disaster Risk Reduction Contest Award Ceremony, organized for students in cooperation with Hyogo Prefecture and the Turkish Japanese Foundation on February 9 in Ankara

Through shared experiences and collaboration, Japan and Türkiye continue to strengthen their partnership in disaster resilience.