Emperor & Empress Visit Disaster Victims
A video news report of Japan’s emperor and empress visiting a shelter and talking with victims of the March 11th earthquake and tsunami:
“Are the children alright? I’m sure they will be delighted to see each other when school restarts (in April),” Emperor Akihito said to Kenji Ukido, 34, a teacher at a school for disabled children in Fukushima Prefecture and one of the evacuees at the shelter.
When Ukido replied that all of the school’s students survived the disaster, the Emperor showed a relieved expression on his face and said, “I’m glad to hear that.”
According to sources close to the Imperial Household Agency, the Imperial couple has a strong desire to visit areas affected by the disaster to encourage local residents and reward those working to restore the region, but is refraining from doing so in order not to interfere with ongoing rescue operations or the situation at the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
Also included in the video is footage of a similar visit that the Imperial couple made to Kobe following the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
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