Ex-Empress of Japan Michiko to undergo medical examination after fall

The former Empress of Japan Michiko, mother of Emperor Naruhito, must undergo a medical examination after a fall at her home, the imperial agency announced to AFP on Monday, with Japanese media reporting a hospitalization.

Michiko “fell in her residence and experienced pain, so a check-up visit was scheduled at the hospital” on Monday, imperial agency spokesperson Katsuyoshi Nakamura told AFP.

Citing anonymous sources, the Fuji Television channel and the daily Asahi reported that the empress emeritus had to be hospitalized following this medical examination, which is to take place at the University of Tokyo hospital.

This is Michiko’s first hospitalization since 2019, when she had surgery for breast cancer diagnosed at an early stage.

Her husband, former Emperor Akihito, officially resigned from office in 2019, becoming the first emperor to abdicate in 200 years in the world’s oldest monarchy.

During their reign, Akihito and Michiko, who will celebrate her 90th birthday on October 20, helped modernize a traditional Japanese monarchy by becoming closer to their subjects, which made the couple popular.

Born in 1934 in Tokyo, Michiko was the first commoner to marry an imperial heir in Japan. The couple met at a tennis tournament and married in 1959 in a highly publicized ceremony.

The former empress gave birth to Naruhito in 1960, as well as a second son in 1965, Prince Akishino.

Michiko and her husband gained notoriety for their presence alongside survivors of natural disasters, notably after the 2011 tsunami which devastated large parts of eastern Japan.

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