Japan commemorated the 15th anniversary of the 7.3 magnitude Kobe earthquake that killed over 6,000 people.

Nearly 8,000 people gathered on Sunday at 5:46am in Kobe, the exact time when the quake struck in 1995.

And it wasn’t just the tragedy of this quake on people’s minds… so was the current devastation in Haiti.

"A lot of tragedies like this seem to happen. There's been a succession of earthquake disasters like this overseas as well."

For many survivors, the quake became an event that changed their lives.

"There's no way I can ever fully recover inside. I still consider it as the defining event of my life."

Nearly 10,000 bamboo lanterns were lit and lined up to form "1.17," the date of the earthquake.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Crown Prince Naruhito attended a ceremony to commemorate the disaster.

[Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese Prime Minister]:
"The bonds built between themselves in the face of the disaster is what I believe to be the biggest reason for the revival of Kobe as it is today."

Japanese building regulations were strengthened after the Kobe earthquake to prevent such a massive loss of life from happening again.