Hirohito Receives More Blood; Condition Stable

Mammoth sumo wrestlers joined crowds outside the Imperial Palace today to pray for 87-year-old Emperor Hirohito, whose condition stabilized despite continued internal bleeding.

Share prices on the Tokyo Stock Exchange gyrated on reports that the frail monarch had received more blood transfusions overnight, but the market recovered somewhat after the palace announced that he was in stable condition.

Television networks put raucous comedies back into their lineups after the condition of the world’s oldest monarch improved.

The sumo wrestlers, dressed in silk robes, added their names to registries set up to pray for Hirohito’s recovery. Palace officials said more than 450,000 well-wishers have journeyed to the Imperial Household Agency’s 12 registry sites across the country.

Watches TV Wrestling

Hirohito had a steady fever of about 99 today, higher than his normal temperature of 95.9 but lower than its peak of 102.6 Saturday, the palace said. On Sunday, he was well enough to watch a televised sumo championship.

Today, he watched television dramas and received his sons, Crown Prince Akihito and Prince Hitachi, and their wives for brief chats, palace spokesman Kenji Maeda said.

On Thursday, the emperor’s imperial duties were transferred to Akihito, 54.

Doctors found traces of blood in the emperor’s bowels for the fourth straight day, indicating that an intestinal hemorrhage had not been contained. They administered another .43 pints in blood transfusions, bringing the total since Hirohito first vomited blood last Monday to 5.96 pints.

Cancer Thought Likely

The nationally circulated Asahi Shimbun quoted medical experts today as saying cancer is the likely cause of Hirohito’s continuous discharge of blood.

Palace officials have refused to confirm or deny news reports that the emperor has cancer and instead have urged the Japanese media to refrain from speculation. Cancer is rarely acknowledged publicly in Japan.

Also today, Japan’s third-largest newspaper apologized for an editorial inadvertently published in its English-language editions expressing sadness at the emperor’s demise.

“We deeply regret the completely erroneous editorial, retract it in entirety and apologize deeply,” the Mainichi Shimbun said. It did not explain how the slip at the Mainichi Daily News had occurred.