Imperial Family

Japanese Empress Emerita Michiko’s Surgery Successful

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
The Emperor Emeritus (left) and Empress Emerita (right)

Jiji Press

13:03 JST, October 8, 2024

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Empress Emerita Michiko underwent a successful surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Tuesday morning after breaking her right femur, the Imperial Household Agency said.

The 89-year-old former empress entered the operating room at 5 a.m. for osteosynthesis and returned to her hospital room at around 7:20 a.m., according to her aide.

She is expected to stay hospitalized for about one to two weeks to undergo rehabilitation so that she can walk by herself. Doctors will determine when she will be discharged based on her progress.

Empress Emerita Michiko fell at the Sento Imperial Residence in Tokyo on Sunday evening.

She was examined at the hospital the following day after experiencing strong pain in her right leg, and it was found that the upper part of her right femur was fractured.

It was the first time that the Empress Emerita was hospitalized and received surgery since 2019, when she was found to have breast cancer.