Japanese emperor ‘deeply worried’
Baku, March 16 (AZERTAC). Japan`s Emperor Akihito has said he is "deeply worried" about the crisis his country is facing following last Friday`s earthquake and tsunami.
In an extremely rare appearance, Akihito went on live TV to make his first public comments on the disaster, and said he was praying for the people.
The emperor spoke after technicians were forced to temporarily abandon a quake-crippled nuclear plant.
The 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami has killed thousands of people.
The stricken power plant has sent low levels of radiation wafting into Tokyo, spreading alarm in the city and internationally.
TV stations interrupted programming to show the sombre-looking emperor describing the natural disaster as "unprecedented in scale".
The 77-year-old - deeply respected by many Japanese - said: "I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times."
As a cold snap blanketed parts of the disaster zone in snow, Akihito called for an all-out rescue effort.
Akihito - who acceded to the throne in 1989 after the death of his father Emperor Hirohito - said he prayed that every victim of the quake and tsunami could be saved.
At least 10,000 people are feared dead following the disaster, which pulverised swathes of the country`s north-east coast.
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