The world's first authorized museum dedicated to legendary Beatles icon John Lennon, closed its doors after a contract with his widow, Yoko Ono, expired, local media said.

The museum, which is located in the city of Saitama on the outskirts of Tokyo, opened on October 9, 2000, to mark the 60th anniversary of Lennon's birth. It has hosted a total of 550,000 visitors.

The museum showcased 40 years of Lennon's life and displayed around 130 items, including his favorite guitar, a pair of his wire-rimmed glasses and hand-written song lyrics.

In recent times, the museum had only 30,000 visitors a year. On the final day of work around 100 Lennon fans came to pay tribute to the idol.

Lennon was shot dead outside his apartment building in the United States on December 8, 1980, by fan, Mark Chapman, who has been in prison ever since.

TOKIO, September 30 (RIA Novosti)