Japan Emperor in Critical Condition, News Agency Says
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TOKYO — Japanese Emperor Hirohito, the world’s longest reigning monarch, was reportedly in critical condition at the Imperial Palace today after receiving a blood transfusion, according to a Japanese news agency.
However, palace officials would not confirm the report and continued to describe Hirohito’s condition as stable.
The respected Kyodo news agency, citing an unidentified person who attended a Cabinet meeting this morning, said the 87-year-old emperor appeared to be in critical condition and that the transfusion had not stopped hemorrhaging in his digestive tract.
Court physicians had administered 1.7 pints of blood to the emperor after being summoned to the palace late Monday when he began vomitting blood, palace officials said. They said he was in stable condition and that there was “nothing to be concerned about.”
However, the government decided today to place Crown Prince Akihito, 54, the emperor’s eldest son, in charge of all matters of state until the emperor recovers, according to Kichiro Tazawa, director general of the Japan Defense Agency.
Hirohito, who has occupied the throne since 1926, has been frail since an intestinal bypass operation in September, 1987.
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