Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are to visit the city of Wajima in Ishikawa Prefecture on the Noto Peninsula on Tuesday to meet people affected by massive rainfall in September.
The day trip will mark the imperial couple’s third visit to the disaster-hit peninsula, including trips to meet people affected by the magnitude 7.6 earthquake that struck the region on Jan. 1.
Their travel plan was reported at a Cabinet meeting Friday.
According to the Imperial Household Agency, the emperor and empress will arrive at Noto Airport in Wajima on a special flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Tuesday morning.
In the afternoon, they are set to inspect an area damaged by floods due to the downpours and receive an explanation from Wajima Mayor Shigeru Sakaguchi. The couple will meet with evacuees and go back to Tokyo at night.
The emperor and empress will travel by bus in the prefecture. The trip will be postponed to Wednesday if the weather is bad.
Aides have said the couple are concerned about those in Noto hit by the two disasters. The upcoming visit was decided after discussions between the agency and the prefecture.
