IN his first public address after ascending the throne, Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito pledged to follow his father’s example in devoting himself to peace and staying close to the people.

Naruhito succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne at midnight after Akihito abdicated.

“When I think about the important responsibility I have assumed, I am filled with a sense of solemnity,” he said.

His wife and daughter, Empress Masako and 17-year-old Princess Aiko, were barred from the ceremony, where only adult male royals participated.

Only his brother and uncle were allowed to witness. Their guests included a female Cabinet minister, however, as the Imperial House Law has no provision on the gender of the commoners in attendance.

The emperor under Japan’s constitution is a symbol without political power. He has previously said he was open to a new role that “suits the times”.

ELSEWHERE, two activists linked to Russian protest group Pussy Riot have successfully appealed against their rejected asylum application and received shelter in Sweden.

Lusine Dzhanyan and Alexei Knedlyakovsky, who have two children, won their appeal of a 2018 ruling, where Swedish authorities said their situation did not justify asylum.

Swedish broadcaster SVT said Dzhanyan and Knedlyakovsky sought asylum in the Scandinavian country a year earlier, claiming they had received death threats and experienced “politically motivated” harassment because of the group’s protests.

MEANWHILE, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi has undergone surgery for an intestinal obstruction, raising questions about his European Parliament election campaign.

Berlusconi’s office said the surgery was successful and that the 82-year-old would be released from the hospital within days.

This is the first time Berlusconi has been allowed to challenge for public office following a ban imposed after a 2012 tax fraud conviction. Citing good conduct, a court last year ruled he could take part in elections again.

AND finally, an Australian jury has convicted a man of plotting to blow up an Etihad Airways airliner on a flight from Sydney to the United Arab Emirates with a bomb hidden in a meat grinder.

Khaled Khayat pleaded not guilty in the New South Wales state Supreme Court to conspiring to plan a terrorist act. The jury convicted but has yet to decide whether his younger brother, Mahmoud Khayat, is also guilty of the same charge.

The bomb plot was abandoned because it was too heavy for carry-on luggage.