Japanese Air Show Strives to Raise Morale Following Devastating Earthquakes

An elite acrobatic squadron dazzled people in Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture Sunday in a bid to raise morale nearly one year after a series of major earthquakes. The squad drew cherry blossom petals and heart shapes in the sky with white smoke. A crowd of riveted spectators watched the performance from an open area near the quake-damaged Kumamoto Castle. The spectacle was held to help lift spirits around Kumamoto as locals struggle to recover from a pair of massive quakes in mid-April of last year. More than 200 people died as a result of those disasters.