°"Kimigayo" (君が代, Japanese pronunciation: [kimiɡajo]; "His Imperial Majesty's Reign") is the national anthem of Japan. The lyrics of "Kimigayo" are probably the oldest among the world's national anthems, and with a length of 32 characters, they are also the world's shortest. The lyrics are from a waka poem written by an unnamed author in the Heian period (794-1185), and the current melody was chosen in 1880, replacing an unpopular melody composed by John William Fenton eleven years earlier. Its length of 11 measures is currently among the world's shortest. While the title "Kimigayo" is usually translated as "His Imperial Majesty's Reign", no official translation of the title or lyrics has been established in law.
°From 1888 to 1945, "Kimigayo" served as the national anthem of the Empire of Japan. When the Empire was dissolved following its surrender at the end of World War II, the State of Japan succeeded it in 1945. This successor state was a parliamentary democracy, and the polity therefore changed from a system based on imperial sovereignty to one based on popular sovereignty. However, the U.S. occupation forces allowed Emperor Hirohito to retain the throne and "Kimigayo" remained the de facto national anthem. The passage of the Act on National Flag and Anthem in 1999 recognized it as the official national and imperial anthem.
°Japan (Japanese: 日本, Nippon or Nihon,[nb 1] and formally 日本国)[nb 2] is an island country in East Asia, located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north toward the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south. Part of the Ring of Fire, Japan spans an archipelago of 6852 islands covering 377,975 square kilometers (145,937 sq mi); the five main islands are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa. Tokyo is Japan's capital and largest city; other major cities include Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Kobe, and Kyoto.