40 Years On: Woman Who Lost Family in JAL Jet Crash Looks to Future

   Konan, Shiga Pref., Aug. 7 (Jiji Press)--In August 1985, Yoshimi Ikai's world was shattered when she lost her beloved husband, her cheerful and compassionate daughter, and her adorable son in a Japan Airlines jumbo jet crash.
   Now, 40 years later, the pain of that tragic summer has started to thaw. Over the decades, the woman, a 74-year-old calligrapher from Konan in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan, has gradually found warmth returning to her life.
   Reflecting on her journey, she said, "I hope there will be many days ahead when I can smile and laugh."
   Her husband, Yoshihiko, then 37, had realized his long-held dream just two years earlier by opening a bookstore in the same prefecture. Their 9-year-old daughter, Sayo, spent her summer vacation delivering newspapers, hoping to save enough money for an electronic organ. Her younger brother, 7-year-old Jun, would wake up early each morning to help her.
   On the evening of Aug. 12, 1985, Yoshihiko, Sayo and Jun boarded a JAL jet bound for Osaka in western Japan. Shortly after departing from Tokyo, the plane went out of control and crashed into a mountain north of the capital, claiming the lives of 520 people on board.

(2025/08/07-11:30)

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