TOKYO — A day after his father became the first monarch to abdicate the imperial throne of Japan in more than two centuries, the new emperor, Naruhito, on Wednesday received the sacred imperial regalia that represents his rightful succession to the world’s oldest monarchy.

In an eye-blinkingly brief ceremony at the Imperial Palace, Naruhito, 59, officially succeeded Akihito, 85, an enormously popular monarch who brought the royal family much closer to the people as he emphasized a message of peace in a country haunted by the legacy of war.

Emperor Akihito abdicated the Chrysanthemum Throne on Tuesday, three decades after he succeeded his father, the wartime emperor Hirohito.

While the role of emperor has been chiefly ceremonial since the end of World War II, the departing monarch acted as the nation’s chief consoler during times of disaster, such as the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and sought to make amends throughout Asia for Japan’s wartime atrocities.