Nintendo president and CEO Satoru Iwata is recovering from surgery last week to remove a growth from his bile duct.
“In general, it is said that a bile-duct growth can be difficult to treat, partly because of the difficulty of detecting it early,” said Iwata in a statement. “In my case, luckily, it was detected very early, and I had no symptoms. I was counselled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option. Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well, as predicted.”
Though Iwata has resumed some work activities, he will not attend an upcoming shareholders meeting this week. He also missed the E3 games industry exhibition in Los Angeles earlier this month.
“As the president of the company, I regret that I cannot attend the meeting,” said Iwata. “However, I understand that I have to prioritise my medical treatment and to recover as soon as possible so that I will again be able to do my best to help the company to grow. I hope that you understand.”
The 54 year-old Iwata is the Japanese publisher’s fourth president, assuming the position in 2002 from long time Nintendo chief executive from Hiroshi Yamauchi. Prior to taking over as company president, Iwata managed Nintendo development partner HAL Laboratory.
