Which country successfully launched the world's smallest rocket designed to carry a tiny satellite into orbit?

Introduction / Context:
Space technology has seen a trend towards miniaturisation, with very small satellites and micro launchers. A well publicised event was the successful launch of the world's smallest rocket capable of placing a tiny satellite into orbit. This question asks which country achieved that milestone, a fact that appears in science and technology sections of current affairs.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The rocket was described as the world's smallest rocket to carry a tiny satellite into orbit.
• The achievement is credited to a specific country.
• Options are India, Russia, Japan and Australia.
• We assume basic awareness of space achievements reported in the relevant year.

Concept / Approach:
The event in question involved a small experiment rocket called SS 520 launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was modified to work as a very small satellite launcher. This was widely covered as Japan using the world's smallest rocket to put a satellite in orbit. Recognising this association helps identify Japan as the correct answer among the options.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall science news about a tiny rocket that successfully placed a micro satellite into orbit. Step 2: Remember that this was described in many summaries as Japan's world's smallest rocket achievement using SS 520. Step 3: Compare with other countries in the options. India has launched record numbers of satellites with PSLV, but those launches used larger rockets and not this extremely small vehicle. Step 4: Russia and Australia did not appear in headlines for this specific "smallest rocket" story in exam oriented news for the same period. Step 5: Conclude that Japan is the country referred to in the question.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done by matching keywords in memory: "Japan", "JAXA", "SS 520", and "world's smallest rocket" usually appear together in notes and articles. This strong and repeated pairing makes it very unlikely that any other country in the options is correct for this specific question.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
India: India holds a record for launching many satellites in one mission and has strong space capabilities, but the specific smallest rocket innovation mentioned belongs to Japan.
Russia: Russia has many historic space firsts, but it was not the country highlighted for the world's smallest satellite launch rocket in this context.
Australia: Australia participates in space activities but was not reported as launching the world's smallest rocket for orbital insertion in the period covered by this question.

Common Pitfalls:
Candidates sometimes over associate space achievements with India or Russia and may choose them automatically without checking whether the description actually fits. Another pitfall is mixing up different records, such as most satellites launched in a single mission versus smallest rocket. Carefully reading the phrase "world's smallest rocket to carry a tiny satellite into orbit" prevents this confusion.

Final Answer:
The country that successfully launched the world's smallest rocket designed to place a tiny satellite into orbit is Japan.