Sharjah24 - 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.

Heart failure is a condition in which the heart muscle does not pump blood as well as it should and can be treated. It differs from a heart attack where blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked.

Akihito was diagnosed with heart failure due to a faulty heart valve and has been undergoing treatment with medication and through restricting activity and fluid intake since then, an IHA official said. He began to show symptoms in June and the diagnosis was made this month, according to the official.

"Currently he is living life as usual," the official added.