Emperor partially resumes duties Friday

TOKYO, Dec. 5 Kyodo - Emperor Akihito partially resumed his official duties Friday, such as signing government documents, after resting due to arrhythmia as his condition has been stable, the Imperial Household Agency said.
The emperor, who will turn 75 on Dec. 23, performed his duties at the Imperial
Residence where he lives and not the office room in the Imperial Palace he
typically uses, and also canceled an attestation ceremony for an ambassador.
He underwent a medical check Friday twice at the Imperial Household Hospital
where he has been examined during his resting.
According to the agency, the emperor's condition is stabilizing and he is
expected to take a rest on Saturday and Sunday. No duties have been scheduled
for those days.
The agency will decide whether he should continue to rest from Monday after
seeing the results of the checkups.
The emperor canceled all official duties on Wednesday and Thursday after he was
diagnosed with arrhythmia and an increase in blood pressure.
The emperor was diagnosed after his regular annual checkup in January this year
as being prone to getting brittle-bone disease due to a side effect of hormone
treatment he was receiving for prostate cancer. Emperor Akihito underwent
surgery to remove prostate cancer in January 2003.
==Kyodo