Iwata Speech
Image: Bob Riha Jr. / Nintendo of America

With E3 less than a week away, Nintendo has made the surprise announcement that company President Satoru Iwata won't be in attendance. The company has already confirmed that Shigeru Miyamoto will be in attendance, along with all the major figures of Nintendo of America, yet Iwata-san will not attend following advice from his physician.

Speaking to Polygon, a Nintendo representative said the following.

He's been instructed by his physician not to travel overseas in the immediate future, and so he will not be making the trip to Los Angeles. Please understand that it is business as usual for Mr. Iwata, and he continues his normal duties as president of Nintendo Co., Ltd. while he remains in Japan. As always, he will be actively involved in all of Nintendo's activities at the show.

Nintendo has a lot planned for the event, though without a live press conference it's possible that the impact of Iwata-san's absence won't be too keenly felt. It's naturally a concern that the company President is avoiding travel, though at present we should take the statement at face value in terms of this not affecting Iwata-san's work and, by extension, general well-being.

We'll provide any official updates as and when they're provided.

Thanks to Ryan Millar for the tip.

[source polygon.com]