Abe sang Kimigayo, the national anthem of the Imperial Japan

[MADem]

1. I lived in Japan well before 1999...and Kimigayo was "the" national anthem played at every

venue where an anthem was appropriate. When the TV signed off, there it was.

Even if it wasn't "official" it was still pervasive.

I could sing along, and I can't even speak much Japanese--that's how often I heard it over a half decade or so.

I don't argue that they might be using the anthem for their own purposes...heck, I still shudder mightily every time I hear "God Bless America." The Bush regime beat that song to death for their own purposes, as well!!!