SOMA, Fukushima Prefecture--The king and queen of Bhutan met Nov. 18 with survivors of the tsunami that devastated this coastal city in northeastern Japan in March.
The royal couple are visiting as state guests of Japan.
At Sakuragaoka Elementary School, they were welcomed by 157 fifth- and sixth-graders.
"Many people still live with inconveniences after their houses were washed away," 11-year-old Kasumi Goto told the royal couple. "But (your visit) gave us encouragement and hope."
The students sang the school song and danced the Yosakoi dance, as King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 31, and Queen Jetsun Pema, 21, watched attentively, smiling.
Wangchuck told the students he came to bring encouragement and love. He told them that everyone has a "dragon," or personality, which becomes bigger and stronger as one grows older and accumulates experience.
Jetsun Pema promised that she will return to the school during her next visit to Japan.
The couple offered a prayer to the victims of tsunami at the city's Haragama district, which was inundated by tsunami triggered by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
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