Former Empress Michiko has said she will miss her first grandchild Princess Mako, who is set to leave the imperial household upon marriage slated for next week, the Imperial Household Agency said on the occasion of her 87th birthday Wednesday.
The former empress has also expressed her thoughts about areas that were devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis as this year marked the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
Meanwhile, she has indicated her sympathy for the people who were affected by heavy rain that lashed wide areas of Japan this summer and triggered a fatal mudslide in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture.