Emperor, Empress to visit flood-hit Kyushu areas in October: sources

August 17, 2017

TOKYO- Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko plan to visit flood-hit northern areas of the Kyushu southwestern Japan region in late October, Imperial Household Agency sources said Wednesday.

Saddened by major damage from the deluge last month, the Imperial couple hope to visit affected areas at an appropriate time, according to the sources.

The couple were initially scheduled to visit Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu from Oct. 28 to attend an annual national event on fishery resources there.

But they are now considering arriving in the region on Oct. 27 to visit on the same day the Fukuoka city of Asakura and the city of Hita in neighboring Oita Prefecture, which were heavily affected by the deluge, the sources said.

During the upcoming visit, the Emperor and the Empress are expected to receive explanations about the extent of damage from the governors of the two prefectures. They may also meet disaster victims, as well as police officers, firefighters and others who were involved in disaster response operations, according to the sources. Jiji Press