(Update) Imperial Couple Visit A-Bomb Survivors' Nursing Home in Hiroshima

   Hiroshima, June 20 (Jiji Press)--Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako on Friday visited Yano Orizuru-en, a nursing home for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombing of the western city of Hiroshima.
   The Imperial couple visited the facility for the first time and met with 10 nursing home residents aged 81 to 99. Emperor Emeritus Akihito visited the nursing home with Empress Emerita Michiko in 2014, before he abdicated the throne.
   Yano Orizuru-en is home to 94 survivors, whose average age exceeds 90.
   Speaking to Chieko Yamanaka, a 95-year-old who experienced the atomic bombing at the age of 15 and whose mother died less than a month after it, the Emperor said that peace is important, while the Empress consoled Yamanaka.
   Empress Masako wished for Yoshiko Morinaga, a 99-year-old whose birthday is in October, to celebrate her 100th birthday in good health.

(2025/06/20-20:08)