CNN
–
Japanese emperor Akihithus will be admitted to hospital for a heart test on Tuesday, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Imperial household agency.
Akihito, 91, retired, is the father of Emperor Naruhito. He set out from the Chrysanthemum Throne in 2019, seven years after undergoing cardiac bypass surgery.
The former emperor was tested at the University of Tokyo Hospital after signs of myocardial ischemia were discovered during a regular examination last month, NHK reported, citing the Imperial Family Agency. This condition reduces blood flow to the myocardium.
After his father Hirohito died in 1989, Akihito rose to the throne, becoming the first Japanese monarch to abandon his post for the first time in 200 years.
He cited health reasons for undergoing cardiac surgery and being treated for prostate cancer the year prior to his abdication.
Ready to break tradition, the man married common, was the first Japanese emperor to become practical in speaking to living subjects on television and raising children.
The emperor is a ritual but respected figure in Japan’s constitutional monarchy. It is the world’s oldest genetic monarchy, dating back to the 14th century.
