Emperor, empress to visit rain-hit western Japan prefectures

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko are considering visiting in September three prefectures in western Japan that were devastated by torrential rains last month, senior officials of the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday.The imperial couple are hoping to visit Okayama and Hiroshima on Sept. 13 and Ehime on Sept. 20 after the areas were hit by floods and mudslides caused by heavy rains in early July.The torrential rains have claimed 226 lives mainly in the three hardest-hit prefectures. More than 3,600 people were still living in evacuation shelters as of Aug. 3, according to a Kyodo New…READ FULL ARTICLE