Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will visit the northeastern Japan prefectures of Miyagi and Fukushima on Thursday to offer encouragement to people affected by deadly Typhoon Hagibis in mid-October, according to the Imperial Household Agency.
The couple will make their first visit to a disaster-hit area since the May 1 enthronement of the emperor, the agency said Monday. The typhoon ripped through a wide area of Japan, leaving more than 90 people dead.
They will fly to Miyagi aboard a special plane from Tokyo's Haneda airport on Thursday morning and move to the town of Marumori by a Self-Defense Forces helicopter to meet disaster victims there in the afternoon.
Then they will fly to Motomiya, Fukushima Prefecture, by helicopter and exchange words with victims, the agency said. In Marumori and Motomiya, both devastated by floods, the death toll amounted to 10 and seven, respectively.
The imperial couple will fly back to Tokyo from Fukushima airport after inspecting local rivers that overflowed.
They have extended their sympathy to typhoon victims and have long wished to visit the area. Since a series of ceremonies and events marking the emperor's enthronement were completed in early December, the agency and the prefectural governments have worked to realize their trip.