Emperor Naruhito ascended to the Chrysanthemum throne as 126th emperor of Japan on Tuesday. The ascension ceremony was witnessed by the hundreds of Japanese outside the palace in driving rain and attended inside the Imperial Palace's Pine Room by leaders from 190 countries, including President Dr Arif Alvi. The ceremony lasted only half an hour, as the programmed public parade had been cancelled out of respect for 80 victims of Typhoon Hagibis. Naruhito officially began his reign in May when his father Emperor Akihito abdicated, but a formal enthronement function has been held now. And in line with tradition the government granted pardon to 550,000 applicants. "I hereby proclaim my enthronement to those at home and abroad," Naruhito said, adding: "I hereby swear that I will act according to the constitution and fulfil my responsibility as symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan, while always praying for the happiness of the people and the peace of the world as I stand with the people". Standing before the emperor, flanked by royal family members, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised the people of Japan would "respect your highness the emperor as symbol of the state and of unity of Japanese people".

The people who disown their past have no future, and the Japanese haven't. Japan rose to be a world economic power despite being recurrent target of vagaries of nature and two World Wars. Japan is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. Japan is also the world's oldest hereditary monarchy, which historians say goes back 1,500 years. It enjoys people's dedication, who won't shirk dying for its defence. It was their unstinted loyalty to Emperor Hirohito that they suffered devastating atomic attack but surrendered to the US-led Allied Forces only when the emperor consented. Legend attributes the creation of Japan to the sun goddess. Buddhism came to Japan from Korea and its style of governance from China. But its manufacturing dynamism or prowess is largely due to the efforts of Emperor Meiji, who came to the throne in 1868 and united the warring principalities into a united country.

But even when Emperor Naruhito retains his position as repository of centuries-old royal traditions and has called his era "beautiful harmony", he is going to be a game changer - not by disturbing the existing political equation but by walking out of the distant palace. He differs in many ways from his more tradition-bound predecessors. Actively supported by his Oxford University classmate Empress Masako, he is likely to assist the government in regenerating the country's rivers as a mode of transportation. As a student in Britain, he studied the history of transport on the River Thames, and also authored "The Thames and I". Another area that is expected to draw his attention is profound question: who should ascend to the throne? So far, only a male heir can ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne, and he has only a daughter. Given growing public support in favour in this respect it is likely that parliament may pass the required legislation to entitle both genders.

The enthronement ceremony was also an opportunity for leaders from all over the world to exchange courtesies and apprise each other of their governments' position on issues confronting them. President Dr Arif Alvi made a good use of that opportunity. He briefed the dignitaries on the Kashmir issue and highlighted its importance for regional international peace. Without an amicable resolution of this dispute South Asia cannot have lasting peace, he told them. The president also highlighted the investment potential of Pakistan, an opportunity made attractive by the present government, particularly by prioritizing Ease of Doing Business.