Japanese Emperor Akihito steps down

Japanese Emperor Akihito, left, and his wife, Empress Michiko, listen to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as he delivers a speech during the abdication ceremony of Emperor Akihito on Tuesday.

Japanese Emperor Akihito, left, hands over his abdication statement to an official during a ceremony inside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.

People gather outside the Imperial Palace in Tokyo as the abdication ceremony for Japan’s Emperor Akihito takes place on Tuesday.

Spectators take photographs of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday as the country’s 85-year-old Emperor Akihito abdicates his throne. Akihito, who was crowned emperor three decades ago, is the first Japanese emperor to abdicate in more than 200 years.

Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako arrive at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday, ahead of Emperor Akihito’s abdication ceremony.

People cheer as Japan’s Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako arrive at the Imperial Palace to attend the ceremony of Emperor Akihito’s abdication.

Japanese police officers hold back crowds of people in Tokyo’s Shibuya district on the day of Emperor Akihito’s abdication.

Crowds of people gather in the rain in Tokyo to witness the end of the Heisei Era in Japan and usher in the Reiwa Era. Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, faces the delicate task of balancing tradition within the world’s oldest monarchy with his own modern values.