No country gets rid of its leaders faster than Japan. The shadow of the guillotine is always there in the background - unless your name happens to be Junichiro Koizumi. Only he, it seems, can escape ...

The Ishigaki city assembly in Okinawa Prefecture recently passed a resolution to ascertain whether children of elementary and junior high school age were taught the “Kimigayo” national anthem in class ...

To some they are symbols of national pride, to others icons of a militaristic past. "Kimigayo," the national anthem, and the Hinomaru, the national flag, have been perpetual sources of controversy ...

We explore the origins and history of ‘Kimigayo’, one of the world’s oldest and shortest national anthems. Japan has one of the oldest national anthems in the world. ‘Kimigayo’ is the country’s single ...

The Tokyo District Court rejected a damages suit Thursday filed by 172 teachers who were punished for refusing to sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school events. The suit, filed against the ...

KBS explained that there was "no intention to praise or glorify Japanese imperialism" regarding the broadcast of the opera "Madama Butterfly," which features the Japanese national anthem Kimigayo, on ...

Keiko Hirata [Assistant Professor, California State University Northridge]: "In March 2009, the Tokyo District Court rejected a lawsuit filed by Japanese teachers who had been penalized for refusing ...

TOKYO -- The Supreme Court has dismissed a damages suit filed by 22 former teachers who argued that the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education acted illegally by refusing to rehire them for not ...

JAPAN got their World Cup campaign off to a flying start as they close in on a last-16 qualification spot. A win TODAY against Costa Rica could all but secure their place in the knock-out rounds.

The first version of Japan’s national anthem was composed by an Irishman, William Fenton. The story of Fenton, considered "the father of band music in Japan,” was shared by Irish diplomatic historian ...