熊本——日本天皇德仁与皇后雅子周三访问熊本县，慰问7月底强震受灾民众，并向参与救援和支持工作的人员表达感谢。
Kumamoto – Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako visited Kumamoto Prefecture on Wednesday to comfort people affected by a powerful earthquake that struck the prefecture in late July and to thank those engaged in relief efforts and support activities.
当天上午，天皇夫妇乘坐特别航班从羽田机场出发，于上午11时30分左右抵达熊本机场。随后他们换乘自卫队直升机，于下午飞抵八代市河岸的一处临时直升机停机坪。
The Imperial couple left Haneda Airport on a special flight in the morning and arrived at Kumamoto Airport around 11:30 a.m. They transferred to a Self-Defense Forces helicopter, which carried the couple to a temporary heliport on a riverbank in the city of Yatsushiro in the afternoon.
走下直升机后不久，他们朝7月28日地震中严重受损的区域默默鞠躬，其中包括日本制纸株式会社八代工厂，该厂一座烟囱倒塌，造成9人死亡。
Soon after getting off the helicopter, they bowed silently toward areas heavily damaged by the July 28 quake, including Nippon Paper Industries’ Yatsushiro plant, where a chimney collapsed and killed nine people.
据陪同天皇夫妇的熊本县知事木村敬介绍，天皇和皇后在直升机上听取了关于日本制纸工厂以及位于嘉岛町的永旺梦乐城熊本购物中心的说明。该购物中心在地震后不久发生爆炸，造成7人死亡。
According to Kumamoto Gov. Takashi Kimura, who accompanied the couple, the emperor and the empress received explanations aboard the helicopter about the Nippon Paper plant and the Aeon Mall Kumamoto shopping facility in the town of Kashima, where an explosion that occurred shortly after the quake killed seven people.
天皇夫妇随后前往八代市一处被用作避难所的设施。该设施目前收容约80名避难者，天皇夫妇听取了部分避难者的讲述，并对他们经历的困难表示慰问。天皇和皇后还访问了冰川町。
The couple then visited a facility in Yatsushiro which is used as a shelter. At the facility, which currently accommodates about 80 evacuees, the imperial couple listened to some of them and expressed sympathies for the difficulties they experienced. The emperor and the empress also visited the town of Hikawa.
据随行人员介绍，德仁天皇和雅子皇后表示希望亲自慰问受灾民众，因为他们对此次地震造成的严重破坏深感悲痛。此次地震发生时，2016年4月大地震后的重建工作仍在进行中。7月地震在冰川町和宇城市观测到日本震度等级最高7级。
According to aides, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako had shown their intentions to console affected people in person as they are saddened by the severe damage from the latest quake, which occurred while reconstruction work following the April 2016 massive earthquakes were still underway. The July earthquakeed the maximum seismic intensity level of 7 on the Japanese scale in Hikawa and the city of Uki.
据熊本县政府统计，此次地震造成的死亡人数，包括间接死亡，已达38人。
The death toll from the quake, including indirectly caused fatalities, has reached 38, according to the Kumamoto Prefectural Government.
截至周二，地震中受损的房屋数量约为72,000栋，其中约9,700栋被完全摧毁或严重受损。约有1,400人居住在疏散中心。
As of Tuesday, the number of homes damaged by the quake stood at about 72,000, including some 9,700 that were destroyed or heavily damaged. About 1,400 people were staying in evacuation centers.
周三的访问是这对天皇夫妇自2024年12月以来，首次在灾难发生后不久前往受灾地区视察。当时，他们曾前往石川县轮岛市，慰问该地区在同年9月遭受暴雨袭击后的受灾情况。
Wednesday’s visit marked the imperial couple’s first trip to a disaster-hit area not long after disasters since December 2024, when they visited the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, after torrential rains that hit the region in September the same year.