February 23, 2026, Tokyo, Japan: (L to R) EMPEROR NARUHITO of Japan delivers his message, expressing his heartfelt wishes alongside his wife EMPRESS MASAKO of Japan during his birthday celebration at the Imperial Palace, where crowds gathered to honor this special occasion. (Credit Image: © Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire)
T(TOKYO) Emperor Naruhito, marking his 66th birthday on Monday, touched on past disasters that have affected the nation and stressed the importance of standing by people in disaster-hit areas.
With this year marking the 15th anniversary of the devastating March 11 earthquake in northeastern Japan and the 10th anniversary of a deadly quake in Kumamoto Prefecture, the emperor is considering visiting Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures in the spring, and Kumamoto Prefecture in the fall with Empress Masako.
At a press conference at the Imperial Palace ahead of his birthday, the emperor said infrastructure in disaster-hit areas is being restored, but community recovery still needs work, adding that he feels “the wounds of the disasters have not completely healed.”
“The impact of disasters affects people differently, and its significance cannot be measured by the number of years that have passed. I intend to continue standing with the people in those areas,” he said.
The emperor added that the experiences and lessons learned from disasters must be passed down to the next generation and that there is an urgent need to reassess preparations for events such as a potential megaquake along the Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast or directly beneath Tokyo.
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