Kumamoto, Sept. 30 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Kumamoto Prefecture on Wednesday to comfort people affected by a powerful earthquake that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture in late July and to thank those engaged in relief and support activities, including medical professionals and firefighters. The Imperial couple left Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on a special flight in the morning and arrived at Kumamoto Airport around 11:30 a.m. They transferred to a Self-Defense Forces helicopter, which carried the couple to a temporary heliport on a riverbank in the city of Yatsushiro in the afternoon. Soon after getting off the helicopter, they bowed silently toward areas heavily damaged by the July 28 quake, including Nippon Paper Industries Co.’s Yatsushiro plant, where a chimney collapsed, killing nine people. According to Kumamoto Governor Takashi Kimura, who accompanied the couple, the Emperor and the Empress viewed from the helicopter the Nippon Paper plant and the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping facility in the town of Kashima, where an explosion that occurred shortly after the quake killed seven people. In Yatsushiro, the couple, wearing badges of “Kumamon,” the prefecture’s official black bear mascot, on their chests, visited a facility that is used as a shelter and currently accommodates about 80 evacuees. Empress Masako talked to Koichi Tomita, 82, and his wife, saying, among other things, “The (summer) heat must also have been tough.” Tomita said, “I felt encouraged although I’ve been down in the two months since the earthquake.” In the town of Hikawa, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited a local elementary school, where they met with about 20 residents of a makeshift apartment nearby. The Emperor told them, “I’m glad you are safe,” while the Empress said, “You must have had a terrible experience.” Among those who exchanged words with the Imperial couple were Takashi Nagata, 54, his wife, 48, the couple’s first son, 12, and the second son, 7. Nagata said, “I felt I will be able to start working hard with my loved ones again.” The family’s house was destroyed by the earthquake, which measured 7, the highest level on Japan’s seismic intensity scale, in Hikawa and the city of Uki. The Imperial couple also visited a community center in Uki and interacted with affected locals. Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako bowed silently again before they boarded a helicopter in Uki, according to the Imperial Household Agency. Aides said Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako had shown their wish to console affected people in person as they were saddened by the severe damage from the latest quake, which occurred while reconstruction work following the April 2016 massive earthquakes were still underway. The death toll from the July 28 quake, including indirectly caused fatalities, has reached 38, according to the Kumamoto prefectural government. As of Tuesday, the number of homes damaged by the quake stood at about 72,000, including some 9,700 that were destroyed or heavily damaged. About 1,400 people were staying in evacuation centers. Wednesday’s one-day trip to Kumamoto marked the Imperial couple’s first visit to a disaster-hit area not long after a disaster since December 2024, when they visited the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, after torrential rains that hit the region in September the same year. The trip to Kumamoto, originally scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed by one day due to bad weather. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
