Japan’s Emperor Emeritus Akihito, the current emperor’s father, was diagnosed with heart failure last month, but his condition has improved with therapy, according to an Imperial Household Agency (IHA) official on Tuesday.
Akihito, 88, abdicated in 2019, the first abdication of a Japanese emperor in two centuries, stating he wasn’t convinced he was still up to the job’s obligations.
Heart failure is a treatable illness in which the heart muscle does not pump blood as well as it should. It is not the same as a heart attack, in which blood flow to the heart is suddenly cut off.
Akihito was diagnosed with heart failure owing to a malfunctioning heart valve at the end of June and has been treated with medication as well as restrictions on activity and fluid intake since then, according to an IHA official.
‘For the time being, he is going about his business,’ the person continued.
Akihito, Emperor Hirohito’s son, spent most of his reign striving to repair the wounds of a war launched in his father’s name across Asia, as well as bringing the monarchy closer to common residents.
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