Emperor Naruhito, on the occasion of his 64th birthday on Friday, mourned the lives lost in a powerful earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year's Day and extended his sympathy to the people displaced.
The emperor expressed his desire to visit areas affected by the disaster on the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture with his wife, Empress Masako.
"My heart truly aches for the many people who have been affected and those who have been forced to evacuate," he said at a news conference at the Imperial Palace ahead of his birthday.