The memoir "Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window," written by Japanese actor and TV personality Kuroyanagi Tetsuko, has been certified by Guinness World Records as having the most copies published for an autobiography by a single author.

The book was first published in 1981 and more than 25 million copies have been printed worldwide.

"Totto-chan" depicts Kuroyanagi as a first grader meeting new friends and Mr. Kobayashi, the school principal, when she transfers to a school in Tokyo. The descriptions of vibrant children and a friendly teacher-student atmosphere struck a chord.

Publisher Kodansha says the book has been translated into more than 20 languages, and 25,113,862 copies have been published in Japan and abroad as of the end of September. A sequel was released in October.

Kuroyanagi says she did not intend to write an autobiography but just wanted to write about Mr. Kobayashi and her childhood memories.

She says she hopes more small children and young people will read the story and feel it is all right to think freely like Mr. Kobayashi.