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Japan

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa hospitalised with heart failure

yuriko

Japan’s Yuriko, Princess Mikasa has been hospitalised following a heart failure diagnosis, the Imperial Household Agency has announced.

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa is the oldest member of Japan’s Imperial Family and the great-aunt of Emperor Naruhito. The Imperial Household Agency said that the 97-year-old Princess is in stable condition and is able to speak and eat. She will receive medication and will remain hospitalised for two to three weeks. She will also receive treatment to remove the buildup of pleural fluid.

She received the diagnosis of heart failure after originally going to the hospital for pneumonia. She was also tested for the coronavirus, and the result came back negative. The Princess was fitted with a pacemaker in 1999 following a diagnosis of bradyarrhythmia.

Yuriko, Princess Mikasa, was born Yuriko Takagi on 4 June 1923. She married Takahito, Prince Mikasa, the fourth son of Emperor Taishō and Empress Teimei in 1941. Her husband passed away at the age of 100 in October 2016.

She and her husband had five children: the former Princess Yasuko of Mikasa, Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (1946-2012), Yoshihito, Prince Katsura (1948-2014), the former Princess Masako of Mikasa, and Norihito, Prince Takamado (1954-2002). They also have nine grandchildren, including Princess Ayako of Takamado who married a commoner in 2018 and gave up her imperial title. Ayako gave birth to a son in 2019, who is Yuriko’s fifth great-grandchild.

The 97-year-old Princess still attends some events of the Imperial Family. She was hospitalised in early 2019 with influenza, shortly after she took part in the New Year’s greeting, but she made a full recovery after a week in the hospital. She had received the flu vaccination a few weeks before.