The emperor had cancelled his duties from last Wednesday for check-ups and to rest after he was diagnosed with an irregular pulse. -- PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
TOKYO - JAPANESE Emperor Akihito resumed his official duties on Monday after a five-day break from public events because of an irregular heartbeat, the palace said.
Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko attended a ceremony awarding a biology prize to University of Minnesota professor G. David Tilman, the Imperial Household Agency said.
The emperor, who turns 75 this month, cancelled his duties from last Wednesday for check-ups and to rest after he was diagnosed with an irregular pulse.
Emperor Akihito had surgery for prostate cancer in January 2003 and started hormone treatment as part therapy for the disease the following year.
He ascended the Chrysanthemum throne to head the world's oldest royal dynasty in 1989, when his father, Emperor Hirohito, died of intestinal cancer at the age of 87.
Japan's emperor enjoys wide respect among the general public, although the post-World War II constitution bars him from holding any political role. -- AFP
