TOKYO: Japan’s former emperor Akihito has been diagnosed with heart failure but is in stable condition after being prescribed medication, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday.
The diagnosis was made during an unrelated health checkup last month on the 88-year-old, who in 2019 became the first member of the world’s oldest royal family to abdicate the throne in more than 200 years.
The examination confirmed heart expansion and pleural fluid, an agency spokesman said.
A subsequent checkup involving an MRI scan at a Tokyo hospital found the retired emperor has right heart failure.
“He is receiving treatment now and he is convalescing,” the spokesman said.
In 2020, the former emperor temporarily lost consciousness and collapsed at his residence, but medical checkups found “no abnormalities.”
He has also suffered temporary cerebral anemia, a condition involving insufficient blood supply to the brain, as well as prostate cancer and other heart problems.
The popular former monarch shocked the country in 2016 when he signaled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades on the Chrysanthemum Throne, citing his age and health problems.
In 2019, his son Naruhito became the new emperor, ushering in the new imperial era of Reiwa or “beautiful harmony.”
![]()
Former Japan emperor Akihito recovering after heart failure diagnosis
Short Url
https://arab.news/5g4wc
Former Japan emperor Akihito recovering after heart failure diagnosis
- Diagnosis was made during an unrelated health checkup last month on the 88-year-old
- In 2019, his son Naruhito became the new emperor, ushering in the new imperial era of Reiwa
Pro-Russian hackers claim cyberattack on French postal service
PARIS: A pro-Russian hacking group claimed responsibility for a major cyberattack that halted package deliveries by France’s national postal service just days before Christmas, prosecutors said Wednesday.
After the claim by the cybercrime group known as Noname057, French intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation into the hacking attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The group has been accused of other cyberattacks in Europe, including around a NATO summit in the Netherlands and French government sites. It was the target of a big European police operation earlier this year.
Central computer systems at French national postal service La Poste were knocked offline Monday in a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, cyberattack that still wasn’t fully resolved by Wednesday morning, the company said.
Postal workers couldn’t track package deliveries, and online payments at the company’s banking arm were also disrupted. It was a major blow to La Poste, which delivered 2.6 billion packages last year and employs more than 200,000 people, during the busiest season of the year.
France and other European allies of Ukraine allege that Russia is waging a campaign of “hybrid warfare” to sow division in Western societies and undermine their support for Ukraine. The AP has tracked more than 145 incidents including sabotage, assassinations, cyberattacks, disinformation and other hostile acts that are increasingly draining police resources.
After the claim by the cybercrime group known as Noname057, French intelligence agency DGSI took over the investigation into the hacking attack, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The group has been accused of other cyberattacks in Europe, including around a NATO summit in the Netherlands and French government sites. It was the target of a big European police operation earlier this year.
Central computer systems at French national postal service La Poste were knocked offline Monday in a distributed denial of service, or DDoS, cyberattack that still wasn’t fully resolved by Wednesday morning, the company said.
Postal workers couldn’t track package deliveries, and online payments at the company’s banking arm were also disrupted. It was a major blow to La Poste, which delivered 2.6 billion packages last year and employs more than 200,000 people, during the busiest season of the year.
France and other European allies of Ukraine allege that Russia is waging a campaign of “hybrid warfare” to sow division in Western societies and undermine their support for Ukraine. The AP has tracked more than 145 incidents including sabotage, assassinations, cyberattacks, disinformation and other hostile acts that are increasingly draining police resources.
Latest updates
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.