Naruhito formally ascends to the throne in a brief ceremony after his father, Akihito, ended his 30-year reign as head of the world's oldest continuing hereditary monarchy. On Wednesday, Naruhito took symbolic possession of the imperial regalia – a sacred sword and jewel – which were concealed inside decoratively wrapped boxes. No female members of the imperial family were permitted to attend, after the government controversially decided to honour precedents set by previous accession rites

Emperor Naruhito promises to continue path trodden by his father, ‘sharing in the joys and sorrows of the people’

Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, has said he is “filled with solemnity” and vowed to show the same compassion and devotion to the public as his father, in a ceremony to formally recognise his accession to the chrysanthemum throne.

“When I think about the important responsibility I have assumed, I am filled with a sense of solemnity,” he said in a ceremony at the imperial palace, joined on the dais by his wife, Empress Masako.

Prime minister Abe says royal couple ‘shared in joys and sorrows’ of Japanese people

Emperor Akihito has thanked the people of Japan for their support during his 30-year reign and said he hopes his successor’s time on the chrysanthemum throne will be “stable and fruitful”, as he becomes the country’s first monarch to abdicate in two centuries.

Speaking at a brief ceremony in the state room of the imperial palace a day before his eldest son, Naruhito, ascends the throne, the 85-year-old said he was praying for peace and happiness for the people of Japan.

Emperor becomes Japan’s first monarch to give up the throne in two centuries. In a brief ceremony at the imperial palace in Tokyo, Akihito, 85, says his 30-year reign was a ‘great blessing’ and expresses his hope for the ‘peace and happiness of people in Japan and around the world’

• Japan’s emperor Akihito abdicates with message of love

Japan has paused. In preparation for the abdication of the old emperor, and the accession of the new, companies and government offices are closed, and it is the duty of dutiful workers to stay at home; even the calendar will change. Ever since 1989 (as we count), official Japanese documents have counted years up from the year Heisei 1. On 1 May the year will reset, and babies, until then born in the year Heisei 31, will instead be born in Reiwa 1; and the years will continue to be numbered through Reiwa until the new emperor dies or abdicates.

The convention of dating events by reference to reigns, or periods of office, is not unique to Japan. In fact it was once almost universal. It reaches back as far as organised politics. In Greece, the Spartans dated by their kings, the Athenians by their judges; and the Roman republic counted from the mythical foundation of the city. None of these conventions survived the crumbling of the political structures that they both commemorated and upheld. That is why later Christians, amid the chaos of local rulers that followed the fall of the Roman empire, had to invent the dating system we still use.

Survivors will receive £22,000 each in compensation for their suffering under eugenics law

Japan’s government has issued an apology and awarded compensation to thousands of people with disabilities who were forcibly sterilised under a now defunct eugenics law.

As part of legislation that passed parliament’s upper house on Wednesday, surviving victims will each receive ¥3.2m (£22,000) to compensate for their suffering, as well as an apology from the state “for the great physical and mental suffering caused by the forced sterilisation programme”.