NONTHABURI, Thailand — President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has expressed his sympathy to Japan for the damage caused by Typhoon Hagibis as well as the destruction of the historic Shuri Castle last month.

President Duterte personally extended Monday his condolences to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit and Related Summits here on Monday, November 4.

“I am deeply saddened by the death of your countrymen during the Typhoon Hagibis,” the President said in his opening remarks.

At least 80 people were killed in the aftermath of powerful Typhoon Hagibis that tore through central and northern Japan in mid-October.

Likewise, the President expressed his sadness over the fire that engulfed 600-year-old World Heritage site in the southern Japanese island of Okinawa last Thursday.

“I also mourned because of the Shuri Castle. It is a UNESCO Heritage,” he said.

The Japanese government earlier pledged to rebuild the historic castle, which had become the symbol of the ancient Ryukyu kingdom and Okinawa’s struggle to recover from World War II. PND