The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (香港日治時期) began when the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the British Crown colony of Hong Kong to Imperial Japan on 25 December 1941. The surrender occurred after 18 days of fierce fighting against the overwhelming Japanese forces that had invaded the territory. The occupation lasted for three years and eight months until Japan surrendered at the end of Second World War. The length of this period (in Cantonese, 三年零八個月; Sam Nin Ling Bat Goh Yuet; "three years and eight months") later became a metonym of the occupation.