“I also swear that I will act according to the Constitution and fulfil my responsibility as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people of Japan, while always turning my thoughts to the people and standing with them. I sincerely pray for the happiness of the people and the further development of the nation as well as the peace of the world.”

Naruhito officially became emperor at the stroke of midnight and went through a series of rituals several hours later on Wednesday morning. Imperial regalia known as Sanshu no Jingi – the sacred mirror, sword and jewels – and state and privy seals were passed on to the new monarch. The sword represents valour, the jewels represent benevolence while the mirror signifies wisdom.

Enclosed in cases and only seen by the emperor and high priests, the sword and stones were then placed on stands made of Japanese cypress. The mirror is kept at Ise Grand Shrine, the holiest Shinto site in Japan.

Only adult male members of the imperial family, including the emperor’s younger brother Crown Prince Fumihito, 53, attended the inheritance ceremony for the regalia and seals, following the example set by former Akihito’s enthronement in 1989. The retired emperor did not attend the ceremonies. Neither did other female royals.

However, the Emperor’s wife, Empress Masako, wearing a floor-length white dress and a tiara, entered the room for the second part of the ceremony with other adult royal women.

A sword, a jewel and a mirror: Japan’s Sacred Treasures explained

Akihito’s abdication ceremony took place in the same room on Tuesday, in the first such ceremony in Japan in two centuries. Enthroned at age 55 on January 8, 1989, a day after his father Emperor Hirohito died, Akihito indicated his wish to abdicate in an August 2016 video address, expressing concern that he might not be able to fulfil his duties as symbol of the state due to his advanced age.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday said: “We are determined to create a bright future for a proud Japan filled with peace and hope at a time when the international situation is changing dramatically.”

Other Asian leaders also offered congratulations.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory telegram in which he said both countries “have a long history of friendly exchanges”.

“The two sides should work together to promote peaceful development and create a bright future for bilateral relations,” Xi said in the telegram, according to Chinese media.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he expects Emperor Naruhito to continue to embrace peace as his father did. He also asked the new emperor to pay much attention and affection in developing ties between the two countries, which have been strained by Japan’s wartime past.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong extended his “warmest congratulations on Your Majesty’s accession to the throne”.

“As we celebrate the auspicious dawn of your reign, I am confident that the relations between our two countries will reach even greater heights. May the Japanese people achieve their aspirations of peace and unity in the new Reiwa era,” he wrote.

Mitsuo Harada, chairman of the Hong Kong-Japan Society, applauded the new emperor’s commitment to peace and the well-being of the people.

“He strikes me as a very honest person who cares about the people and I believe that he will try hard to follow in the positive footsteps of his father,” Harada said. “Peace is the most important concept for the imperial family and the Japanese people and it was right that he emphasised that in his first speech.

“I hope this new era will lead to Japan having better relations with its neighbours, such as China, although the emperor will be limited in the changes that he can introduce within the imperial household. If there are changes, they will be very gradual.”

From Akihito to Naruhito, who’s who in Japan’s imperial family

Born in the same year as the new emperor, Tokyo resident Masaru Haneda, 59, said he hoped the dawning of a new era would herald improved relations with Japan’s neighbours.

“I think I’m like many Japanese; we all just want to live in a time of peace,” he said. “I want Japan to have better and closer relations with other countries, particularly those that are geographically close to us so the lives of ordinary people can be safer and happier.

“And while I hope that our lives will become happier, history shows us that Japan experiences many natural disasters that bring with them tragedy,” said Haneda, a 59-year-old salaryman. “We must be ready for that and we have to be able to act fast to help those who need it.”

What to expect from Naruhito in the new Reiwa era

Mari Faynot, 42, who works for an import company in Tokyo said she was concerned about Empress Masako.

“I’m pretty indifferent to the whole changing of the eras and the new emperor because it will not have any affect on my life,” she said. “The new emperor will be just like the old emperor. But, as a mother and a wife, I would say that I am worried about how Masako is going to adapt to her new life, her new responsibilities.

“We all know that she has a psychological illness and while the emperor has said he will care for her and protect her, I still worry about the pressures that she will be under.”

Shizuko Utsumi, a retired teacher who lives in the Hokkaido city of Hakodate, offered similar reservations about the empress’s health.

“She is a graduate of Harvard and a former diplomat, so it must be very frustrating for her not to have a role or a task now,” she said. “She has so much knowledge but she cannot use any of it now.

“I am sure that the feelings that the new emperor has expressed for her over the years are genuine so I hope that he is able to find a way that she can use her skills and knowledge in a positive way. There must be things that she can do to help ordinary people and raise Japan’s profile abroad. And that could help Japan improve its relations with other countries and make our society more open and welcoming to people from abroad.

“But I’m optimistic. There were tragedies in the Heisei era and I am hopeful that this new era will be better for all of us.”

Akihito’s abdication on Tuesday brought an end to the Heisei era spanning his 30-year reign and heralded the start of the new imperial era called Reiwa, which the government translates as “beautiful harmony”.

“I have performed my duties as the emperor with a deep sense of trust in and respect for the people, and I consider myself most fortunate to have been able to do so,” the emperor said in his last speech on Tuesday.

Japan’s Heisei era was marred by economic downturn, disasters

In modern Japan, imperial era names, or gengo, are widely used in Japanese calendars and official documents. The name of the new era was announced on April 1 ahead of the new emperor’s enthronement to allow people and businesses to accommodate the change.

The public will have to wait until Saturday to greet the new emperor and his wife, when they make their first public appearances at the Imperial Palace during the country’s Golden Week holiday period through Monday, which has been extended to 10 days to celebrate the imperial succession.

A series of ceremonies and events for the imperial succession are scheduled in coming months, including the Sokuirei Seiden no gi, a ceremony to proclaim the enthronement of the emperor in the palace’s state hall on October 22.

After the enthronement ceremony, the new emperor and empress will parade in an open-top limousine in Tokyo and also take part in banquets with over 2,000 guests in the same month.

Daijosai, or the great thanksgiving ceremony, in November always follows an emperor’s accession to the throne. The emperor will make offerings to the ancestral deities and pray for the peace and prosperity of Japan and its people.

The series of ceremonies will end with the emperor’s visits to the mausoleums of past emperors and Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Mie Prefecture, possibly by the end of the year.

Additional reporting by Kyodo, Agence France-Presse and The Washington Post