The southwestern Japanese prefecture of Kumamoto on Wednesday marked the ninth anniversary of a deadly earthquake, the more intensive of a pair of quakes that hit the region, with over 270 victims remembered by families and others.People in the Aso area, one of the hardest-hit places in the prefecture, prayed for the deceased at 1:25 a.m., when a magnitude 7.3 quake rattled the region nine years ago, two days after a M6.5 temblor.In Kumamoto and neighboring Oita Prefecture, a total of 278 people died and about 43,000 buildings were damaged, while some 196,000 people were forced to evacuate.…READ FULL ARTICLE
