Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on Thursday offered prayers to fishermen and others in the fishing industry who lost their lives during the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami during a visit to a monument in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.
The Imperial Couple were on the second day of their three-day trip to Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures to commemorate the victims of the earthquake and subsequent nuclear disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant five years ago, their fifth such trip to the prefectures.
They were originally supposed to stop by the Miyagi Prefecture fishermen's hall for a brief respite in the port city, but expressed a desire to mourn before the monument upon learning of its existence, according to a senior official of the Imperial Household Agency.