Monarch receives strict new medical orders after sudden hospitalisation

Following a sudden hospitalisation, the former monarch was advised to stop taking the stairs in order to avoid any further health issues.

The Emperor of Japan, Akihito, was diagnosed with supraventricular arrhythmia – when the heart beats faster than normal – and now the doctors have strictly advised him to avoid taking the stairs given his condition, via Hello! magazine.

King Charles – who met Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko during a five-day visit to Japan with Camilla in 2008 – has not yet made a public statement about it.

On Monday, the former emperor, the first Japanese monarch to abdicate the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries, was hospitalised at the University of Tokyo Hospital He was accompanied by his wife Empress Emerita Michiko.

Akihito received an oral treatment for the condition and left the hospital with his wife, Empress Michiko, who had been visiting him on a daily basis.

In 2012, Akihito underwent a heart bypass operation and the a decade later he suffered heart failure. Given his health issues, Akihito abdicated from the Japanese throne in April 2019 and his son, Emperor Naruhito, succeeded him.

Last year, King Charles and Queen Camilla welcomed Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako at the Buckingham Palace for a State Visit.

Meanwhile, Charles himself is undergoing weekly cancer treatments after his diagnosis in February 2024. The King is doing well in his treatments, as the Palace as affirmed, and there is no indication of abdication even though Prince William is being quietly trained for his destined role.