This is the first time that Sakaguchi has revealed the exact name of his medical condition which is an incurable illness designated by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. The illness which is also known by the name avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head, is a pathologic process that results from interruption of blood supply to the bone. It is said that there are about 11,000 patients and another 2,000 to 3,000 cases are found each year. As there is no effective cure for this illness, patients may have to go through surgery to get an artificial hip joint if necrosis of the bone takes place and affects the ability to walk along with extreme pain experienced by the patient. An alternative is to cut off a part of the bone and do correction surgery on the joint. People in their 30s to 50s form the bulk of the patients and men are more likely to get this. It's been said that one of the reasons leading to this illness was the use of steroids and excessive drinking. Besides Sakaguchi, RYOJI of Ketsumeishi announced in 2016 that he was suffering from this while the late Misora Hibari was also diagnosed with this in the last years of her life.
