Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Friday met disaster victims in the areas of western Japan devastated by torrential rains in July that caused floods and mudslides and killed over 220 people.The couple visited Seiyo, Ehime Prefecture, and Kure, Hiroshima Prefecture, and gave words to cheer them up.They had visited Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, last week but postponed their trips to other areas due to poor weather. The three prefectures of Ehime, Hiroshima and Okayama were hit the hardest by the rain disaster.In Seiyo, where five people were killed by the disaster, the imperial couple …READ FULL ARTICLE
