Japan Vigil for a Failing Emperor

Misty autumn rains fell on Tokyo late last week as millions of Japanese waited anxiously for news of their most important cultural symbol. Emperor Hirohito, 87, the world's longest-reigning monarch and the last surviving head of state of the World War II era, lay gravely ill, and at week's end was running a fever.

The Japanese had known for 18 months that the Emperor's health was failing. Nevertheless, the news that Hirohito had vomited blood and was experiencing internal bleeding came as a jolt to many of his subjects. The Emperor's doctors diagnosed his condition as "obstructive jaundice" and said the bleeding was related to a swelling of the pancreas and an internal blockage for which the Emperor had undergone an intestinal-bypass operation a year ago. They acknowledged for the first time the presence of a tumor in the Emperor's pancreas. For four days, as he received a series of blood transfusions and was fed intravenously, his condition remained fairly stable, but then it began once again to deteriorate. In the meantime, Crown Prince Akihito, 54, was asked by the Cabinet to assume temporarily his father's official but largely ceremonial duties.

In downtown Tokyo, people gathered outside the walled and moated Imperial Palace to watch and pray. Tens of thousands lined up to sign visitors' books at the main palace gate and elsewhere throughout the country. Autumn festivals, including Tokyo's Grand Ginza extravaganza, were canceled, as was the 100th-anniversary celebration of the daily Asahi Shimbun. Said Mitsu Fujisawa, 112, believed to be the oldest person in Japan: "I have worshiped His Majesty for a long time. I hope he will recover and live longer than I have."