JAL Crash Victims Mourned on 40th Anniversary of Accident in Japan Free
JAL Crash Victims Mourned on 40th Anniversary
UENO, Gunma Prefecture, Japan — On August 12, 2025, the somber toll of a bell echoed across the rugged terrain of Osutaka Ridge in Gunma Prefecture, marking the 40th anniversary of the tragic crash of Japan Airlines (JAL) Flight 123, the deadliest single-aircraft accident in aviation history. The disaster, which claimed 520 lives and left only four survivors, continues to cast a long shadow over Japan, as bereaved families, JAL representatives, and local officials gathered to honor the memory of those lost. However, the passage of four decades has brought new challenges, as the advancing age of relatives has made the annual pilgrimage to the crash site increasingly difficult, raising concerns about how the tragedy’s lessons will be preserved for future generations.
The Tragedy of JAL Flight 123
On August 12, 1985, JAL Flight 123, a Boeing 747 en route from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Osaka’s Itami Airport, suffered a catastrophic structural failure just 12 minutes after takeoff. The aircraft, carrying 524 passengers and crew, experienced an explosive decompression due to a faulty repair of its aft pressure bulkhead, a consequence of a tailstrike incident seven years earlier at Osaka International Airport. The subsequent loss of hydraulic control rendered the plane nearly uncontrollable, and after 32 minutes of desperate maneuvering, it crashed into the remote, forested slopes of Mount Takamagahara, near Osutaka Ridge, approximately 100 kilometers northwest of Tokyo. The crash killed 505 passengers and all 15 crew members, with only four women surviving, marking it as the world’s deadliest single-aircraft disaster.
The flight was packed, largely due to Japan’s Bon summer holiday season, when many were traveling to reunite with family. Among the victims were 43-year-old singer Kyu Sakamoto, famous for his global hit “Sukiyaki,” and numerous children, including 9-year-old Ken Miyajima, who was traveling alone to visit relatives in Osaka. The scale of the tragedy shocked Japan and the world, leading to a profound reevaluation of aviation safety and maintenance practices.
The 40th Anniversary Commemoration
On the morning of August 12, 2025, 283 people from 82 bereaved families embarked on the arduous climb to Osutaka Ridge, a steep trail rising to an elevation of 1,565 meters. The group included relatives, some accompanied by young children, and JAL representatives, who together paid their respects at grave markers scattered along the mountainside. The mourners, many elderly and relying on walking sticks, offered flowers, prayers, and messages of remembrance. At 6:56 p.m., the exact time of the crash, a moment of silence was observed at a memorial ceremony at the foot of the mountain, where 520 candles—one for each life lost—illuminated the twilight, symbolizing enduring grief and a commitment to aviation safety.
The annual pilgrimage, organized by the 8.12 Renrakukai (August 12 Liaison Council), a group of bereaved families led by Kuniko Miyajima, has been a cornerstone of remembrance since the tragedy. However, this year’s commemoration underscored a poignant reality: the aging of the bereaved is making the physically demanding trek increasingly challenging. Yutaka Ochi, 66, from Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, who lost his sister Yoshiko, poured her favorite Hennessy brandy over her grave marker, noting that a knee injury might make this his final climb. “I might not come again,” he said softly, reflecting a sentiment shared by others who feel the weight of time.
Aging Relatives and the Challenge of Memory
Kuniko Miyajima, 78, secretary-general of the 8.12 Renrakukai, has been a tireless advocate for preserving the memory of the crash and its lessons. Having lost her 9-year-old son, Ken, in the disaster, Miyajima has channeled her grief into advocacy, emphasizing the importance of aviation safety. She noted the dwindling number of climbers—down from 406 in 2015 on the 30th anniversary—and expressed concern about passing the responsibility to younger generations. “The aging relatives are finding it harder to pass on their activities to the next generation,” she said during a pre-anniversary visit to the site in April 2025. Miyajima’s group has urged JAL and local authorities to continue supporting efforts to maintain the site and educate the public.
The challenge is compounded by the fading presence of those with direct connections to the tragedy. Within JAL, only 0.1% of employees as of March 2025 were with the company at the time of the crash, with 3.6% including those rehired post-retirement. This generational shift within the airline mirrors the broader societal challenge of keeping the disaster’s lessons alive. To address this, Miyajima’s group published a new collection of memoirs in July 2025, titled After the Red Cloud, the first in a decade. The booklet, part of the “Akanegumo” (Red Cloud) series, features 32 essays from bereaved families, including seven first-time contributors. The title evokes the sunset glow seen by passengers before the crash, a haunting image that underscores the human toll.
Stories of Loss and Resilience
The memoirs reveal the enduring pain and resilience of those left behind. Morishita Reiko, who lost her mother, reflected on a passage she wrote shortly after the crash: “If I could have one wish come true, it would be to see that summer day disappear and vanish.” Decades later, she noted that this feeling remains unchanged. Hirata Hiroko, whose brother died, wrote of her declining health and her hope to reunite with him in the afterlife, while pledging to live fully in memory of the 520 victims. Ozawa Kimi, 69, who lost her husband Takayuki, shared how her son and his wife’s happiness offers a glimpse of the life she might have had.
Risako Uchino, 65, from Kawasaki, climbed the ridge with her daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren, aged 2 and 5. She mourned her father, Shinjiro Minami, whose body was identified only through dental records. Uchino recalled finding her father’s dental bridge in his urn, a discovery that rekindled memories of loss. “Fewer and fewer people know about the accident, but these memories must be passed down,” she said, emphasizing the importance of educating her grandchildren.
Masayoshi Yamamoto, 45, who lost his father, has taken a modern approach to remembrance, creating a YouTube anime short to advocate for aviation safety. Joining the 8.12 Renrakukai in 2010, Yamamoto has visited Osutaka Ridge annually to honor his father, sharing life milestones like his education, career, and fatherhood. His efforts reflect a broader push to engage younger generations through new media, ensuring the tragedy remains relevant.
The Cause and Its Lasting Impact
The 1987 Japanese government investigation pinpointed the crash’s cause to a faulty repair by Boeing Co. following a 1978 tailstrike incident. Boeing’s technicians used two splice plates instead of a single continuous plate, reducing the bulkhead’s resistance to fatigue cracking by about 70%. This error, undetected during JAL’s inspections, led to the bulkhead’s failure after 12,318 flights, exceeding the calculated 11,000-cycle threshold. Boeing’s refusal to allow Japanese investigators to interview the responsible engineers left lingering questions, as noted in a 2025 Asahi Shimbun editorial, which criticized the U.S. for not fully explaining the deviation from standard procedures.
The crash had profound repercussions for JAL and Japan’s aviation industry. Public confidence in JAL plummeted, with domestic passenger numbers dropping by a third and international travel declining during the 1986 New Year period. JAL’s president, Yasumoto Takagi, resigned, and two employees—a maintenance manager and an engineer—died by suicide, citing responsibility for the tragedy. The disaster prompted JAL to establish the Safety Promotion Center in 2006 at Haneda Airport, displaying wreckage, passenger notes, and safety lessons for employee training and public education. The center inspired Airbus SE to open a similar facility in 2023.
JAL’s Ongoing Commitment
JAL’s leadership has consistently participated in anniversary events, reinforcing the airline’s commitment to safety. In 2024, President and CEO Mitsuko Tottori, who began her career as a flight attendant in 1985, joined the climb, stating, “I renewed my awareness that there should be no compromise in safety.” The airline’s response to a January 2024 Haneda Airport runway collision, where all 379 passengers on JAL Flight 516 were safely evacuated despite the plane catching fire, was widely praised. However, recent scandals involving pilots’ alcohol consumption have raised concerns about JAL’s safety culture, prompting renewed calls from the 8.12 Renrakukai for vigilance.
A Community Effort
The village of Ueno has played a vital role in preserving the crash site, maintaining the trail and hosting memorial ceremonies despite challenges like typhoon damage and the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted access in 2020 and 2021. Local mayor Hachiro Kurosawa emphasized the importance of passing on memories, a sentiment echoed by a former JAL mechanic who has maintained the trail since 1986, despite facing criticism from some bereaved families.
Cultural tributes have also emerged, such as actress Hitomi Kuroki’s participation in a lantern-floating ceremony on the Kanna River on August 11, 2025, honoring her Takarazuka Revue classmate Yumiko Yoshida. Approximately 200 lanterns, inscribed with messages like “Watch over us,” were floated at 6:56 p.m., creating a poignant visual of remembrance.
Conclusion: Preserving a Painful Legacy
The 40th anniversary of the JAL Flight 123 crash serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of life and the enduring impact of tragedy. For the bereaved, the annual trek to Osutaka Ridge is both a physical and emotional journey, a testament to their love for those lost and their determination to prevent future disasters. However, as the relatives age, the physical demands of the climb and the fading direct connections to 1985 pose significant challenges to keeping the tragedy’s memory alive.
Kuniko Miyajima’s leadership and the 8.12 Renrakukai’s efforts have been instrumental in sustaining this legacy. The publication of After the Red Cloud and initiatives like Masayoshi Yamamoto’s anime short demonstrate creative ways to engage younger generations, ensuring that the lessons of Flight 123—about the critical importance of meticulous maintenance, rigorous oversight, and a culture of safety—endure. The Safety Promotion Center at Haneda Airport stands as a tangible commitment to this goal, educating both JAL employees and the public about the human cost of complacency.
Yet, the unresolved questions surrounding Boeing’s role and the lack of accountability for the faulty repair highlight a lingering wound. The refusal to allow interviews with the engineers responsible for the substandard repair has left a gap in understanding the full cause of the disaster, as noted in recent critiques. This underscores the need for transparency in aviation safety, a principle that Miyajima and others continue to champion.
The involvement of JAL’s leadership, from Tottori’s participation to the airline’s response to recent incidents, reflects an ongoing commitment to learning from the past. However, the 2024 Haneda collision and pilot-related scandals suggest that vigilance must be constant. The contrast between JAL’s successful evacuation in 2024 and the systemic failures of 1985 illustrates both progress and the need for continued improvement.
The community of Ueno, through its maintenance of the crash site and hosting of ceremonies, exemplifies a collective responsibility to honor the victims. Cultural acts like the lantern-floating ceremony add a layer of communal healing, bridging personal grief with public remembrance. These efforts, combined with the bereaved families’ resilience, ensure that the 520 lives lost are not forgotten.
As the 41st year approaches, the challenge lies in transitioning this responsibility to a new generation. Social media, educational programs, and continued advocacy from groups like the 8.12 Renrakukai offer pathways to sustain awareness. Shin Miyajima, Ken’s brother, expressed a sense of mission to continue his mother’s work, suggesting that new approaches, such as digital storytelling, could keep the tragedy relevant. The determination of individuals like Risako Uchino to bring their grandchildren to the site reflects a hope that the next generation will carry forward the lessons of August 12, 1985.
Ultimately, the 40th anniversary of JAL Flight 123 is not just a moment of mourning but a call to action. It reminds us that safety is not a given but a collective effort, built on the sacrifices of those lost and the perseverance of those who remain. As the bereaved grow older, their stories, etched in memoirs and shared at Osutaka Ridge, serve as a beacon for future generations to uphold the sanctity of human life in the skies.
