Japan’s Emperor Akihito cancels engagements after dizzy spell
The 84-year-old was advised to rest by doctors.
Japan’s Emperor Akihito has cancelled or postponed his engagements after feeling nauseous and dizzy and being advised to rest.
The Imperial Household Agency said the 84-year-old’s wife, Empress Michiko called the palace doctor early on Monday morning after finding the emperor sweating profusely.
It said his symptoms were caused by insufficient blood flow to the brain and the doctor was continuing to monitor his situation.
Emperor Akihito announced in December that he would abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne at the end of April 2019, citing health concerns.
He will be succeeded by his eldest son, Crown Prince Naruhito.
Michiko will go by herself to some of the appointments scheduled for Monday, the agency said, including a meeting with Princess Ayako, a daughter of Akihito’s cousin.
Ayako recently announced that she is to marry a commoner, and Michiko will relay the emperor’s congratulatory wishes, the agency said.
During the final months of his reign, Akihito and Michiko plan to revisit places key to Japan’s and their own personal history.
They visited Okinawa this year and offered prayers for people who died there during the Second World War.
And they returned to Fukushima, meeting people forced out of their homes because of radiation leaking from the nuclear plant damaged in the , earthquake and tsunami on March 11 2011.
While Japanese emperors are no longer viewed as divine, the elder royals are beloved and welcomed by well-wishers almost anywhere they go.
