The Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita expressed their condolences on the death of Tetsu Nakamura, a doctor renowned for his aid work in Afghanistan, to the bereaved family, a senior official of the Imperial Household Agency has said.
The Imperial couple seem to have been very saddened by the sudden news, upon learning that Nakamura was fatally shot Wednesday by an armed group in Afghanistan, the official said Friday.
They met Nakamura at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in 1996 after he was awarded the Yomiuri Awards for Medical Dedication prize. Since then, they often invited him to their residence and listened attentively about his activities in Afghanistan.
In February, Nakamura attended a tea party to celebrate the 30th year of the enthronement of the then Emperor held at the Imperial Palace.
Nakamura, who was invited to their imperial residence in March, told of how the sterile land in Afghanistan was turned into farmland covered with rich green, showing books and pictures about irrigation projects, the official said.
The Emperor Emeritus and Empress Emerita expressed their condolences to Nakamura's bereaved family on Thursday through Grand Chamberlain Chikao Kawai of the Imperial Household Agency.
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