Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited Okayama Prefecture on Friday and met victims of the deadly July downpours in western Japan.The imperial couple visited areas hard hit by torrential rains that caused widespread landslides and flooding, killing more than 200 people mainly in Okayama, Hiroshima and Ehime prefectures.They met some 30 survivors and members of bereaved families in the hard-hit Mabi district of Kurashiki city."It must have been hard after the disaster," the emperor told Kensuke Saito, 51, who lost his 76-year-old mother. The empress took his mother's photo in h…READ FULL ARTICLE
