Paul McCartney cancels Japan tour due to illness

Paul McCartney said he hates to let people down

Sir Paul McCartney has had to cancel the rest of his tour of Japan due to illness, organisers have said.

The 71-year-old former Beatle is believed to have contracted a virus.

He is still scheduled to perform a concert in Seoul, South Korea, on 28 May followed by 19 performances in the United States.

A message on his website said that doctors have ordered him to have a "complete rest" and that he "hates to let people down".

The announcement means that Sir Paul will not play the remaining two gigs of his Out There Japan Tour 2014.

Fans will now not get to see him perform at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo, which is where the Beatles performed during their first Japanese tour in 1966.

Organiser Kyodo Tokyo said in a statement that Sir Paul "will regrettably have to cancel the remaining Japanese shows. Paul is still not feeling better and this cancellation is unavoidable".

Many of the shows were announced on Instagram

A quote from the singer on his website said: "Thank you so much for your kind messages of support.

"I'm so very touched. Unfortunately my condition has not improved overnight. I was really hoping that I'd be feeling better today. I'm so disappointed and sorry to be letting my fans down."

Sir Paul had already cancelled Saturday's appearance and later his Sunday show, both due to have taken place at Tokyo's National Stadium, saying that the decision was in his doctor's hands.

He also told fans: "Thank you for such a beautiful and warm welcome to your country."

The shows were the latest leg of the Out There tour, which started back in May 2013, and followed a series of Japan dates last November.

Sir Paul and his band recently completed a tour of Latin America which included shows in Peru and Uruguay.

The forthcoming South Korea date will be the first time he has played in the country.

It will be followed by a series of US concerts in places including New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville, Fargo and Kansas City between June and August.

They were announced by Sir Paul's team earlier this year on the social media site Instagram.