Japanese town gripped by namesake Obamamania

Tokyo/Obama, Japan - Welcome to Obama. Elderly residents in the small port town on Japan's west coast are getting ready for the US presidential elections, playing hula music to support their hero - Barack Obama.

The vast majority of them knows the Hawaii-born senator only from the television screen. And, like most of their countrymen, they did not give a toss about politics at the other side of the Pacific Ocean until recently.

But now, the residents of Obama, Japan, are cheering for the Democratic candidate because he puts their town, 400 kilometres west of Tokyo, on the map.

"It would be great if Obama became a world-famous president and our town Obama an equally famous tourist destination," said Seiji Fujiwara, founder of a local campaign called the Unofficial Association to Support the Candidate Obama.

The town Obama looks like a dyed-in-the-wool Democratic stronghold, never mind that the Illinois senator has never set foot in the place.

However, the potential future president of the United States has heard about the town and even written to his Japanese fans there, who in turn are brainstorming on ways to promote his case and thereby boost their own popularity.

Local bakers are preparing for election day on November 4 by baking Barack Obama bean paste cakes. There are also Obama sushi, Obama noodles, Obama fish burgers and Obama chopsticks.

The Democrat's picture adorns the local hotel, and he smiles from I-love-Obama stickers.

"Meanwhile, it really looks as if he's going to win," said a member of the Obama support team. "We all are really excited."

The election returns are to be shown live on a big screen in the community centre with entertainment provided by the Obama Girls and the Obama Boys, the somewhat elderly performers vowing to hula-dance the night away.

And should the winner be Barack, the whole town, whose name in Japanese means "small beach," plans to party - and is considering sending a delegation to far-away Washington for the inauguration.

According to Obama folklore, the senator joked upon visiting Japan two years ago that he hailed from Obama town. Another, more credible version of the tale says Obama was approached by an employee at an airport in Tokyo upon his arrival who proudly told him that he came from a town with the same name.

No matter how Obama heard about Obama in the end, clever businessmen and the town's then-mayor saw coincidence as a God-given opportunity to attract tourists to the town of 32,000 people, which is suffering under the economic gloom.

The Obama hubbub in the town, which traditionally has made its living from fishing and producing lacquerware, has even led to town representatives being invited to the US consulate in nearby Nagoya for election day.

No matter whether Barack wins, one thing was clear for the Japanese supporters of their US namesake: "We will party!" (dpa)

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