(CNN) —
Japan’s Emperor Akihito formally abdicated Tuesday during a historic ceremony in Tokyo, becoming the country’s first monarch to step down from the Chrysanthemum Throne in two centuries.
His son, Crown Prince Naruhito, 59, will be inaugurated as the 126th emperor Wednesday, ushering in the Reiwa era.
Akihito’s reign – and the Heisei era – officially ends at midnight on Tuesday. Hereafter the 85-year-old will be known as Emperor Emeritus Akihito.
Akihito, along with Empress Michiko and the Japanese Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, attended a short ceremony at 5 p.m. local time (4 a.m. ET) in the Matsu-no-Ma state room of the Imperial Palace.
Outside, throngs of well-wishers, both Japanese and visitors from overseas, waited in the rain-soaked grounds.
In a rare instance of speaking live on television, the ruler said that he had performed his duties as the emperor with a “deep sense of trust and respect” for the Japanese people.
“I consider myself most fortunate to have been able to do so,” he said at the small abdication ceremony.
“I sincerely wish, together with the Empress, that the Reiwa era, which begins tomorrow, will be a stable and fruitful one.”
The much-loved Akihito will be remembered for connecting with his public in a way that no other Japanese monarch has done and expressing “deep remorse” for the country’s actions during World War II.
After having heart surgery and overcoming prostate cancer in recent years, the monarch cited health reasons for stepping down.
“I am worried that it may become difficult for me to carry out my duties as the symbol of the state with my whole being, as I have done until now,” the soft-spoken Emperor said in 2016, in his second TV speech in three decades.
It was seen as a plea to Japan’s lawmakers to change the law to allow him to retire. The following year, they did.
“It won attention and respect from the people, who recognized the emperor actually had a will of his own,” said Hitomi Tonomura, a historian at University of Michigan’s Center for Japanese Studies.
It was a fitting final move for a monarch who had often broken with tradition. He was also the first Japanese Emperor to marry a commoner, speak to his subjects live on television and to be hands-on in raising his children.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito greets the public on his 81st birthday in December 2014. He ascended to the throne after his father's death in 1989.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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In December 1933, Tsugunomiya Akihito was born to Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako. He was their fifth child and first son. According to Japanese legend, he is a direct descendant of Japan's first emperor Jimmu, circa 660 BC. Akihito means "shining pinnacle of virtue," and Tsugunomiya means "prince of the august succession and enlightened benevolence."
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito, 14, uses a magnifying glass at the Peers School in Tokyo. At about the age of 5, Akihito was separated from his parents, in accordance with Japanese custom at the time, and raised and educated by chamberlains and tutors.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito uses a scooter to whiz across the Imperial Palace grounds in 1948.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito peers over the shoulder of his father, Emperor Hirohito.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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During a seven-month trip in 1953, Akihito sits on the promenade deck of a cruise ship headed from Hawaii to San Francisco. He visited 14 countries.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito wears traditional garb at a ceremony where he was proclaimed heir apparent to the throne. His outfit here was reported to be over 1,000 years old.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito clears a hurdle during an equestrian event in Tokyo in 1952. It was staged as a send-off for Japanese Olympic riders.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito during a shooting trip circa 1955.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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After graduating from Gakushuin University, Akihito attends a farewell party with other graduates in April 1956.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito joins Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie for a hunt outside Tokyo in November 1956.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito met his future wife, Michiko Shoda, at a tennis tournament. He was the first Japanese Emperor to marry someone outside of the aristocracy.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko pose in traditional Japanese wedding costumes before their marriage in April 1959.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and his wife after their wedding ceremony.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Members of the Japanese imperial family are photographed in 1961. Akihito is second from left, looking at his wife and their first son, Naruhito. They are joined by Akihito's parents, Emperor Hirohito and Empress Nagako, and his brother Masahito.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito arm-wrestlers Naruhito while Michiko looks on. The couple had another son, Fumihito, in 1965. Their only daughter, Sayako, was born in 1969.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito in 1971.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko are received at the White House by US President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan in 1987.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito drives to an imperial villa in 1989. Michiko is in the front passenger seat. Behind Akihito is his son Fumihito.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito walks during his enthronement ceremony in 1990. A year and 10 months after the death of his father, Akihito officially became the 125th Emperor of Japan.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko visit the Great Wall of China in 1992. It was the first visit to China by a Japanese monarch. During his stay, Akihito said he deplored the Japanese treatment of the Chinese before and during World War II.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko pose with police officers who had escorted them at Brazil's Curitiba Airport in 1997.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Mexican President Vicente Fox wave to people while Fox visited Tokyo in 2003.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko walk on a beach in Shimoda, Japan, in 2004. Joining them were their son Fumihito and Fumihito's family: wife Kiko and daughters Mako and Kako.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito talks with Malaysian King Syed Sirajuddin while Michiko meets with Queen Tuanku Fauziah in 2005.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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During a visit to Honolulu in 2009, Akihito lays a wreath at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Akihito has repeatedly expressed remorse for his country's actions before and during World War II.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko play tennis together in 2010.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko bow in front of collapsed buildings and houses after an earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan in 2011. After the disaster, Akihito made an unprecedented televised address -- the first time any Japanese emperor had spoken to the public on TV. "I truly hope the victims of the disaster never give up hope, take care of themselves and live strong for tomorrow," he said.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito and Michiko visit an evacuation shelter after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
Photos: Japan's Akihito: His life in pictures
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Akihito talks to evacuees at a shelter in Minamisanriku.