Per the Mainichi Daily News:

Per the Japan Times:

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan, who underwent heart surgery on Saturday, is recovering well and was able to drink water on Sunday morning in the intensive care unit where he is being treated, Imperial Household Agency officials said.

The agency said the Emperor asked a doctor when he can start reading books.

Her Imperial Majesty Empress Michiko of Japan visited University of Tokyo Hospital to see her 78-year-old husband, while many people signed books for well-wishers in front of the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo.

Their Imperial Highnesses Crown Prince Naruhito and Prince Akishino visited their father on Sunday afternoon.

Asked about the Emperor’s heart bypass surgery, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda told reporters at his official residence, “I’m relieved that it ended without complications. I want to pray for his quick recovery.”

The Emperor underwent coronary artery bypass surgery on Saturday. The operation, which lasted about four hours, ended without complications or significant bleeding, according to a team of physicians from the hospital and Juntendo University Hospital who operated on him.

Per AFP News:

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan underwent a successful four-hour heart bypass operation Saturday and hopefully should be fit to play tennis again, officials said amid lingering concerns over his declining health.

It was the first surgery for the 78-year-old Emperor since 2003 — when he had an operation for prostate cancer — after tests showed a narrowing of two of his coronary arteries.

His physicians, a team from the University of Tokyo hospital and the private Juntendo University, said the operation went without a hitch from the start at 11:01 am (0201 GMT) until the end at 2:57 pm.

The Emperor was awake before he left the operating room at 3:55 pm for the intensive care unit.

His wife Empress Michiko and their daughter Sayako Kuroda, a former princess who left the royal household to marry a commoner, visited him about an hour after he came to the ICU and had a brief chat, the palace said.

He might be discharged in two weeks, his doctors said.

“The operation ended smoothly as planned,” Minoru Ono, surgeon at the University of Tokyo, told a news conference.

“His blood pressure is good. No bleeding is seen. His condition after the surgery is just as expected,” he said.

During his recuperation, Emperor Akihito’s first son His Imperial Highness Crown Prince Naruhito will handle official duties such as attending public ceremonies and meeting state guests.

The monarch arrived at the hospital on Friday morning accompanied by Empress Michiko, who stayed with the emperor overnight.

Emperor Akihito walked to the operating room with his wife and daughter seeing him off at its entrance.

After his operation, the Empress and Kuroda saw him briefly and rubbed his hand.

“It feels good,” the emperor told them, according to Ono.

More than 10,000 people flocked to the Imperial Palace on Saturday to sign books wishing him well at a special tent set up outside the palace gates.

Local press reports had earlier stressed the surgery was a routine procedure that thousands of Japanese undergo every year. But, the surgery came amid increasing concerns about Emperor Akihito’s health.

A catheter angiogram taken a week ago showed that his arteries had continued to narrow since an examination a year ago, the palace said in a statement.

In November, Emperor Akihito, who acceded to the throne in 1989 following the death of his father Hirohito, spent 19 days in hospital with mild pneumonia and underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2003.

His youngest son, His Imperial Highness Prince Akishino, has suggested there should be a discussion about setting a retirement age for the head of state.

Despite being stripped of much of its mystique and its quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II, the Japanese throne is held in deep respect by much of the public.

The palace will continue to consider ways to reduce Akihito’s duties, said Ichiro Kanazawa, the palace’s top medical supervisor.

“Fortunately, his heart has become better, so I am hoping that he will be able to play tennis again,” he said. “But, as for his work, we have to think of his age, which is not getting younger.”

Per the Mainichi Daily News :

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito will enter University of Tokyo Hospital on Friday morning to prepare to undergo heart bypass surgery the following day, the Imperial Household Agency said Wednesday.

The Emperor will conduct his official duties, including meeting with foreign ambassadors to Japan, until Thursday, according to the agency.

Saturday’s surgery, which will be conducted by a team of doctors from University of Tokyo Hospital and Juntendo University Hospital, is likely to take about five hours, and Emperor Akihito is expected to be able to leave hospital in about two weeks if there are no complications.

During the Emperor’s hospitalization, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Naruhito will carry out his father’s state duties.

Photo courtesy of Daylife/AP

On Monday, February 13, 2012, Their Imperial Majesties Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko visited the Tokyo National Museum to view the new exhibition, Two Hundred Selected Masterpieces from the Palace Museum, Beijing.

Upon their arrival the imperial couple were greeted by the “… Chinese Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Cheng Yonghua…” as well as other local dignitaries.

According to the Mainchi Daily News, the Emperor and Empress, “…viewed exhibits including calligraphy, picture scrolls and a garment made of peacock feathers worn by an emperor of the Qing dynasty.”

Afterward, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met with various ambassadors newly assigned to foreign capitals as well as attended a “…ceremony for Supreme Court judges…” at the Imperial Palace.

Click here to view photos.

Sources: Mainchi Daily News and DYO

Photo courtesy of Daylife

Per AFP News:

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan, 78, will undergo heart bypass surgery this week after tests showed the narrowing of his arteries has worsened, the Imperial Household Agency announced on Sunday.

The operation, scheduled for Saturday, February 18, will be performed ‘to maintain and to improve His Majesty’s daily life. We have decided to ask his majesty to have a coronary artery bypass surgery,’ a IHA spokesman said.

The announcement came shortly after Emperor Akihito was discharged from the University of Tokyo Hospital, where he underwent a catheter angiogram on Saturday.

The test showed that the narrowing of his arteries has progressed, compared with an examination he underwent a year ago, the spokesman said.

Doctors have reached ‘a conclusion that a new action has to be taken’ to stop the trend, he said.

The operation will be performed by physicians from the University of Tokyo and private Juntendo University, the spokesman said.

Akihito, wearing a gray suit and a striped tie, walked out of the university hospital Sunday, accompanied by Empress Michiko, as his physicians stood in line at the entrance.

The surgery comes amid increasing concerns about Akihito’s health.

The latest angiogram was arranged after periodic electrocardiograms showed restricted blood flow to his heart.

In November, the Emperor spent 19 days in hospital suffering mild pneumonia.

Emperor Akihito, who ascended the throne in 1989 following the death of his father Emperor Hirohito, underwent surgery for prostate cancer in 2003.

The Emperor’s second son Prince Akishino in November suggested there should be a discussion about setting a retirement age for the titular head of state.

Despite being stripped of much of its mystique and its quasi-divine status in the aftermath of World War II, the Japanese throne is held in deep respect by much of the public.

The Imperial Household Agency says His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito of Japan has been hospitalized for tests.

An agency official says that the 78-year-old Emperor was admitted to University of Tokyo Hospital on Saturday for testing, but that the visit was not an emergency.

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Akihito has had various health problems in recent years, including pneumonia and prostate cancer. He has cut back on public duties but appears relatively healthy.

According to Kyodo News agency, the Emperor will get tests for his heart, which may be suffering from a deficient blood supply.

Source: Associated Press