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X Japan Leader Yoshiki Recovers From Surgery

YOSHIKI, leader of rock band X Japan, successfully underwent surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday. His surgical wound is expected to partially heal in six weeks, and he is expected to make a 90% recovery after six months. However, the recovery period for the sharp pain he experiences in his left arm remains unknown.

According to his doctor, it will be difficult for YOSHIKI to use his voice for a while after surgery, but his voice is expected to return to normal little by little. He was expected to recover in the hospital for a few days after surgery. YOSHIKI had a hazy mental state due to taking painkillers after waking from general anesthesia. However, he had a discussion with his doctor and decided to leave the hospital on Tuesday night.

After leaving the hospital, YOSHIKI went to a studio to work on recording a song he had been writing until just before his surgery. While YOSHIKI was able to work for 30 minutes, his physical condition became more of a burden than he had imagined. On the advice of his staff and nurses, he returned home and is convalescing under the supervision of his doctor.

YOSHIKI posted on his Twitter account an x-ray of his neck and a picture of himself on a hospital bed.

YOSHIKI is scheduled to participate in "X Japan World Tour 2017 We Are X" in Japan in July and the "Evening With YOSHIKI 2017" "premium dinner shows" in August and September. Future events may be cancelled or rescheduled based on discussions, and an announcement will be made soon. All of the performer's scheduled activity for May has been cancelled.

YOSHIKI was diagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis (narrowing of the cervical disc space) in 2009 and previously underwent treatment for the condition. His symptoms reappeared last October, and by his New York City performances in January he had lost sensation in his left hand.

X Japan went on hiatus in February 2016 following the hospitalization of guitarist Pata. YOSHIKI has continued to appear at numerous events around the world to perform and to promote X Japan's documentary film, "We are X."

X Japan's most notable anime contributions were the songs in the X² music video collection and later X movie. The animation Studio Madhouse adapted both productions from CLAMP's X manga. The surviving band members — Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama, Yoshiki Hayashi, Tomoaki "Pata" Ishizuka, and Hiroshi "Heath" Morie — reunited in 2007, ten years after they first disbanded and nine years after the death of guitarist Hideto "Hide" Matsumoto.

Thanks to Daniel Zelter for the news tip.

Source: Oricon News via Hachima Kikō