Painful muscle spasms have prompted Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to cut short a trip to Japan.
Duterte was advised by his doctor to rest and take painkillers to relieve him from lower back muscle spasms, which may have been caused or aggravated by a fall from a motorcycle last week and another similar accident years ago.
Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the president would still meet Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua on Thursday to discuss Chinese financing of infrastructure projects in the Philippines.
Duterte's health problem went public when he cut short his trip to Japan, where he attended Emperor Naruhito's enthronement ceremony in Tokyo but had to skip two banquets, which were attended instead by his daughter, Sara Duterte.
Duterte at times used a cane and appeared to be in pain while in Tokyo.
An avid rider of big motorcycles in his younger days, Duterte, 74, sustained bruises and scratches when he fell off his parked motorcycle last week in the sprawling presidential palace complex in Manila.
Duterte said last year that he suffers from "perpetual pain" due to a spinal injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident years ago. He has also acknowledged using Fentanyl, an opioid used to treat chronic pain that can also be used as a recreational drug.
Australian Associated Press
