Japan PM Fumio Kishida to Undergo Sinus Operation

Jiji Press

9:11 JST, February 11, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will undergo a sinus surgery at a hospital in Tokyo on Saturday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Friday.

As the endoscopic operation for chronic rhinosinusitis involving a nasal polyp will be conducted under general anesthesia, Matsuno will temporarily serve as the country’s acting prime minister.

Kishida is slated to leave the hospital within Saturday and return to work on Monday.

Kishida is having symptoms such as chronic nasal congestion, Matsuno said at a press conference, adding that the prime minister will need to go for checkups for his nasal condition several times after the surgery.

“While I’ve been on medication for a blocked nose, I decided to undergo an endoscopic surgery so that I’m in perfect physical condition,” Kishida told reporters in the city of Toda, Saitama Prefecture, on Friday.

Article 9 of the Cabinet Law stipulates that the duties of prime minister will be temporarily performed by a cabinet minister designated in advance in the event that the prime minister is involved in an accident or unable to do the job.