A Year After Losing Family in Landslide, Man Returns to Site to Honor Their Memory

Keisuke Oma stood at the site where his wife and three children were killed in an earthquake-triggered landslide in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture. It had been exactly a year since the tragedy on New Year's Day.

Surrounded by disaster debris, Oma offered a silent prayer, tears welling in his eyes. "I am back," he said. "Thank you, and I am sorry."

This was the first time Oma had returned to the site where his family had perished. The earthquake had triggered a landslide, crushing the home of his wife's parents where they were visiting.

Oma, who now lived in Kanazawa, had been unable to visit the site for a year. The haunting images of the avalanche of earth had been too much to bear.

He arrived at the site around 10:30 a.m. on January 1st. A clear blue sky spread above him, a stark contrast to the night after the quake when stars had glistened in the sky.

Oma had been visiting the home with his wife, Haruka, 38, daughter Yuka, 11, sons Taisuke, 9, and Sosuke, 3, when the magnitude-7.6 temblor shook the Noto Peninsula.

Haruka's parents, grandparents, and her sister-in-law were also killed in the disaster.

The white van that had taken Oma's family to the house remained squashed at the site. A child safety seat for Sosuke was in the backseat.

Tears trickled down Oma's cheeks as he recalled the family members singing in the van during the journey to the house.

Oma laid a bouquet, including some light pink and blue flowers. He said he wanted to offer bright-colored flowers because he had a "really happy family."

He also brought potato chips, a favorite of his children, and beer, which Haruka's parents were fond of.

"I feel like I returned here with them, not alone," he said. "I want to spend the rest of my life doing what my family wanted to do without wasting even a day."

Oma said he wanted to return to the site again in summer.