Japan's Former Emperor to be hospitalised for heart examination

Tokyo [Japan], May 6 (ANI): Japan's Imperial Household Agency has announced that Former Emperor Emeritus Akihito will be hospitalised in Tokyo on Tuesday for a heart examination, CNN reported, citing NHK reports.

Referring to Japan's Imperial Household Agency, NHK reported that the Emperor Emeritus underwent a regular checkup at the Imperial Household Hospital in mid-April earlier, where he showed signs of possible myocardial ischemia. The condition occurs when blood flow from the coronary arteries to the heart muscle is insufficient.

Citing the Agency officials, NHK further observed that he had not noticed any symptoms, such as chest pains, but after reexamination, he was diagnosed with a high probability of myocardial ischemia on Sunday. They say the 91-year-old Emperor Emeritus will be admitted to the University of Tokyo Hospital for a more detailed examination.

NHK reported that the former Emperor Emeritus underwent coronary bypass surgery after being diagnosed with angina in 2012, when he was 78.

In July 2022, he was diagnosed with right heart failure. He began taking medication and restricting his fluid intake.

Citing the agency, NHK reported that the Emperor would postpone plans to stay at the Hayama Imperial Villa in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, starting Thursday.

As per CNN, Akihito, who ascended to the throne after his father, Hirohito, died in 1989, became the first Japanese monarch in 200 years to abdicate his post.

CNN reported that he cited health reasons for standing down, having undergone heart surgery and been treated for prostate cancer in the years preceding his abdication.

According to CNN, Akihito was the first Japanese emperor to marry a commoner, speak to his subjects live on television, and be hands-on in raising his children.

Notably, the emperor is a ceremonial but revered figure in Japan's constitutional monarchy. It is the oldest hereditary monarchy in the world, dating back 14 centuries. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)