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...
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