FOCUS: Ex-Nurse Passes On JAL Crash Practice of Caring for Deceased
A former nurse reflects on her experience caring for victims of the 1985 Japan Airlines crash, highlighting the practice of 'seitai' to restore dignity to the deceased. This tradition of respectful body arrangement continues to be passed down to new generations.
Why it matters
It preserves the historical memory of a major aviation tragedy and highlights the human element of disaster response and trauma care.
Tokyo, Aug. 16 (Jiji Press)--Fumiko Yamamoto still vividly remembers the moment she entered a gymnasium-turned-morgue as a nurse in the aftermath of the 1985 Japan Airlines jumbo jet crash.
As she passed through the blackout curtain, "something heavy pressed down on my shoulders," recalled Yamamoto, now 82. "(That feeling) still remains in my heart. I felt it might have been the souls of the deceased."
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