Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will attend a memorial ceremony on Jan. 17 to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake in western Japan, the Imperial Household Agency announced Monday.
According to the agency, the emperor and empress will arrive in Kobe on a special flight on Jan. 16. Later in the day, they will be briefed by Hyogo Gov. Motohiko Saito on the reconstruction situation and visit the Hyogo Prefectural Hyogo-no-Tsu Museum to see an exhibition related to the 30th anniversary of the disaster. They will also meet people affected by the 1995 disaster.
On Jan. 17, the imperial couple will attend the memorial ceremony, where the emperor will give a speech. The couple will also inspect the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution before returning to Tokyo that night.
The emperor and empress were crown prince and crown princess when they attended the first disaster anniversary ceremony in 1996 and the 15th ceremony in 2010. The emperor also attended the fifth anniversary ceremony in 2000 alone.
The 10th and 20th anniversary ceremonies were attended by Emperor Emeritus Akihito, who was on the throne at the time, and Empress Emerita Michiko.
