On January 17th, Co-op Kobe's full-time executives and subsidiary company presidents joined together to pray for the repose of the souls of the many victims of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake at the Co-op Kobe Life and Culture Center. The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture on January 17, 1995. A wide area of the Kinki region was affected by the earthquake, especially the port city of Kobe near the epicenter. The number of casualties reached 50,000, making it the second most devastating earthquake disaster in Japan after the Great East Japan Earthquake in last the 75 years.

At the time of the earthquake, Co-op Kobe also lost many staff and their families, as well as the headquarters building, stores, and delivery centers. The emergency headquarter was set up at the Life and Culture Center, which was the base of their members' activities, but the underground gymnasium in the Center was turned into a morgue at the request of the local government, and in the open space, co-op staff assembled coffins for the bodies that were being brought in one after another and helped transport the bodies by truck. A total of 10,000 volunteer workers from co-ops nationwide not only supported the stricken co-ops, but also sorted and delivered relief supplies for local governments, cooked meals, and engaged in a wide range of other relief activities. This kind of support without considering the damage to their own organizations was reported in the media and praised with the phrase "Co-op's activities saved many lives. Co-ops always make a difference in the disaster areas".

Since the disaster, Co-op Kobe and several other co-ops have been holding various memorial events on January 17th, such as visiting monuments in the affected areas and holding silent prayers in order to pass on the experiences and lessons of the earthquake to the next generation and prepare for future disasters.