OSAKA, JAPAN - A ceremony was held Sunday to mark the seventh anniversary of a knife attack at Ikeda Primary School in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, in which eight students were killed and 15 injured.

Since all the students who were at the school during the attack by an intruder on June 8, 2001, have already graduated, a sixth-grader who lost an elder sister in the incident made a speech during the ceremony, which was attended by about 1,600 people, including victims' relatives, teachers and students.

"On this day seven years ago, I learned the sorrow of being separated from my dear sister," the student said. "Since then, I've learned a lot of things in this school, such as that nothing can replace a life, every one of us is very important, and that we've been watched over and supported by many people."

After pledging to remember the days spent together with the victims, the student then said, "I hope people will learn from the incident for the sake of eight precious lives."

The student volunteered to make the speech at the end of last month, feeling that a family member of one of the victims would be the best person to convey the hope for a safe society since the students who experienced the attack were no longer at the school.

After delivering the speech at the ceremony, the student was unable to stop crying. The tears were prompted by the memory of losing a sister, but also from a sense of accomplishment, the student said.

"I think I was able to convey my message [at the ceremony]," the student said. "The attack isn't just an incident to be remembered by victims' families and those who experienced it. I hope everyone will think [about how to create a safer environment]."

At the ceremony, eight bells on a 4.5-meter-high tower inscribed with the victims' names were tolled as the participants offered silent prayers.

Daisuke Fujita, principal of the school, which is attached to Osaka Kyoiku University, then read aloud the names of the eight victims and said, "I'd like to keep in mind [the victims'] hope for a safe society and make the school a safe and fun place."

Hajime Sakai, 46, who lost his eldest daughter, Maki, in the incident, said that as he looked at the current first-graders, who were born in the year of the attack, the passage of time was brought home to him.

"So as not to forget the lessons from the attack, we need to understand what we have and haven't achieved in securing the safety of schools. It's our duty to meet the goal so the victims' deaths weren't in vain," he said.

This article was first published in The Yomiuri Shimbun on June 10, 2008.