TOKYO, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan on Thursday mourned the lives that were lost in two devastating earthquakes that struck the region six years ago killing almost 300 people.

With reconstruction work still in progress six years on and almost 100 people still displaced and living in makeshift houses, Kumamoto Governor Ikuo Kabashima said in a commemorative speech at the Kumamoto prefectural government office that the lessons and experiences of the past should be passed on to future generations.

"It is our important responsibility to pass on the experience of the earthquake to the future, which will lead to the prevention and limiting of the damage of disasters at home and abroad," Kabashima said to some 30 people attending the ceremony, including family members of the bereaved.

The number of those allowed to attend the annual ceremony was capped for the second year in a row, due to COVID-19 restrictions, as the virus stages another resurgence in some regions in Japan.

The southwestern region was rocked by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake on April 14, 2016, only to be struck by a magnitude 7.3 quake two days later. Both temblors maxed out Japan's seismic intensity scale which peaks at 7.

As a result of the quakes, 227 people died, and around 200,000 houses were leveled or severely damaged across 40 municipalities, according to Japan's public broadcaster NHK.

In the days and weeks after the quakes battered the region, as many as 47,800 people were left stranded and 4,300 units of temporary housing were hastily erected at 110 locations in 16 municipalities in 2017.

According to a recent prefectural report, almost 100 people are still without permanent accommodation to live in, with reconstruction work in the hard-hit town of Mashiki still expected to take another five years.

Renovation work is still continuing to restore the damage caused by the quakes to the iconic Kumamoto Castle and the damage caused to its centuries-old stone walls, with restoration work likely not to be completed until 2038.

At the site of the castle on Thursday, an elderly woman was quoted as saying that while she didn't cry when her one home was destroyed by the quakes, she was full of tears and emotion when she saw how extensive the damage to the castle had been.

Kumamoto Castle is close to people's hearts, and she prays every day for the progress of the recovery work, she was quoted by local media as saying.

Another man said that the castle serves as a great source of emotional support for everyone, intimating that its damage has caused a great deal of pain and suffering to those who cherish it so dearly.

Those attending the memorial ceremony also expressed their grief as well as their conviction to move forward from the tragedy that irrevocably changed the lives of thousands of people six years ago.

"I believe that all of you who have gone through such a painful and sad experience is still moving forward strongly with your own feelings in your hearts," Yoshimasa Mochida, 54, who lost his 70-year-old mother, was quoted as saying.

He went on to say that he and his family members "pledge to move forward along with Kumamoto's reconstruction." Enditem

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