Etymology
Since the Heian period or earlier, the word "kimi" has been used either as a noun to indicate an emperor or one's lord (i.e., master); as an honorific noun or suffix to indicate a person or most commonly as a friendly, informal word for "you" For example, the protagonist Hikaru Genji (光源氏?) of the Tale of Genji is also called "Hikaru no Kimi" or "Hikaru-gimi" (光の君 or 光君?).
Before the Japanese defeat in World War II, "Kimigayo" was understood to mean the long reign of the emperor. With the adoption of the Constitution of Japan in 1947, the emperor became no longer a sovereign that ruled by divine right, but a human who is a symbol of the state and of the unity of the people. The Ministry of Education did not give any new meanings for "Kimigayo" after the war; this allowed the song to mean the Japanese people. The Ministry also did not formally renounce the pre-war meaning of "Kimigayo".
In 1999, during the deliberations of the Act on National Flag and Anthem, the official definition of Kimi or Kimi-ga-yo was questioned repeatedly. The first suggestion was given by Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka that, due to the new status of emperor as established in Article 1 of the Constitution of Japan, kimi meant the "emperor as the symbol of Japan," and the entire lyrics wish for the peace and prosperity of Japan. Then Prime Minister Keizō Obuchi confirmed this meaning with a statement on June 29, 1999:
"Kimi" indicates the Emperor, who is the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people, and whose position is derived from the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens, with whom sovereign power resides. And, the phrase ""Kimigayo"" indicates our State, Japan, which has the Emperor enthroned as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people by the consensus-based will of Japanese citizens. And it is reasonable to take the lyric of "Kimigayo" to mean the wish for the lasting prosperity and peace of such country of ours.
Parties opposed to the Liberal Democratic Party, which was in control of the government at the time Obuchi was prime minister, they strongly objected to the government's meaning of kimi and "Kimigayo". From the Democratic Party of Japan, members objected due to the lack of any historical ties to the meaning. The harshest critic was Kazuo Shii, the chairman of the Communist Party of Japan, who strongly believed that "Japan" could not be derived from "Kimigayo" because the lyrics only mention wishing for the emperor for a long reign. Shii also objected to the use of the song as the national anthem because for a democratic nation, a song about the emperor is not appropriate.
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