Japan festival at disaster-hit region

Shinto festival marks return of spring in disaster-hit Noto region. At the beginning of the festival on Tuesday, a procession led by a horse started from the shrine. About 30 priests and local youth took part to pray for the recovery from a massive quake that hit the area on New Year’s Day in 2024.

Residents lined the streets to see the procession, putting their hands together in prayer. An 18-year-old man who took part in the parade said his home was affected by the quake, so he decided to join the event to help encourage people in Noto. 

Usually, the parade takes six days to go through various areas in Noto, but this year the period of the event will be shortened, due to the quake, to four days by reducing the number of locations it will visit.