Baku, May 11 (AZERTAC). Two months after Japan`s quake and tsunami catastrophe sparked a nuclear disaster, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko were to visit evacuees from the radiation zone on Wednesday.

Tens of thousands have been forced from their homes in a 20-kilometre (12-mile) no-go area around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, where emergency crew are still struggling to stabilise the stricken reactors.

The emperor - the living “symbol of the state and the unity of the people” - and empress were to visit evacuees near Fukushima City northwest of the stricken plant, and then the coastal town of Soma north of the plant.

Like much of Japan`s northern Pacific coast, Soma was shattered by the massive March 11 tsunami, sparked by a magnitude-9.0 seabed earthquake, that crashed into the fishing port and wiped out homes and lives.

By the latest national police count, Japan`s worst post-war calamity killed 14,949 people and left 9,880 others officially missing.

The imperial couple previously visited tsunami survivors in nearby prefectures, but Wednesday`s trip was their first visit to the area directly affected by the world`s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl 25 years ago.

Hundreds of wellwishers cheered and waved as the 77-year-old emperor and the empress, 76, arrived at Fukushima airport by Self-Defense Forces aircraft before changing to a helicopter to visit the first evacuation shelter.

Still nearly 100,000 Fukushima prefecture residents remain without permanent housing, and 60,000 of them live in shelters such as public gyms and schools, enduring cramped and trying conditions and little privacy.

Many have fears about the long-term exposure to the radiation still wafting out of the plant some 60 kilometres (38 miles) away, and many parents ban their children from spending too much time outdoors.

The local farm and fisheries sectors have been devastated, as some produce has been banned outright by Japan and other countries, and other foods, although officially declared safe, has been shunned by worried consumers.

Looking back at two difficult months, local newspapers voiced the region`s frustration over the slow provision of help for its people, many of whom have lived with no income and almost no personal belonging.

The Fukushima Minyu newspaper said residents worried about the uncertain pace of decommissioning the nuclear plant. Its operator doesn`t expect to bring it to stable “cold shutdown” until some time between October and January.

“People who are suffering from the disaster wish to rebuild their lives as soon as possible,” a Minyu editorial said. "But reconstruction efforts are frustratingly slow, prolonging the time spent at evacuation shelters.

“Along with securing housing for people, the government is strongly urged to quickly execute such help as providing employment and economic assistance.”

The Minyu rapped the embattled plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), urging it to assume full responsibility for the accident and to compensate Fukushima residents.

“TEPCO must firmly keep in mind that the evacuees and other Fukushima residents are victims of the accident,” the newspaper said. “No more suffering must be imposed on them.”