Japanese Emperor Emeritus diagnosed with heart failure, condition improved

FILE PHOTO: Japan's Emperor Akihito, flanked by Imperial Household Agency officials carrying two of the so-called Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, leaves the main sanctuary as he visits the Inner shrine of the Ise Jingu shrine, ahead of his April 30, 2019 abdication, in Ise, central Japan, April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Emperor Emeritus Akihito, father of the current emperor, received a diagnosis of heart failure but his condition has improved under treatment, an official at the Imperial Household Agency (IHA) said on Tuesday.

Akihito, 88, stepped down in 2019 in the first abdication of a Japanese emperor for two centuries, saying he was not sure he was still up to the demands of the job.