TOKYO, Feb 9 (AFP) - His calls to return to Africa may not strike the same chord here, but Bob Marley's star power still shines in Japan, where the late reggae legend's words have been embraced by fans with different predicaments but similar feelings.
The painful restructuring of corporate Japan in the 1990s was no source of lyricism for Marley, who died in 1981, but his passion to be free against the establishment has proven inspirational for the children of Japan's new economy.
Reggae clubs and specialty music stores across Japan are holding parties to mark the birth anniversary of the Jamaican reggae icon, who would have turned 60 on February 6.
"What's so important about Bob Marley is that his messages transcend," said Eiko Furuya, who leads Reggae-ya, a group of Japanese DJs and sound crew specializing in traditional roots reggae, including the works of Marley.
"Someone must pass on his message. He taught us to fight oppressors without violence and weapons," she said, as she prepared for a club event of Marley tunes in his memory.
"This message is even more relevant today, with the wars and crimes," she said.
On the other side of the globe, hundreds of thousands of revelers are celebrating the anniversary in Ethiopia, which Marley and his Rastafarian faith championed as the African promised land.
In Japan, a society that could hardly be more different, Marley has also long had a hold. Even though Japanese pop stars now usually outsell foreign artists, Marley's popularity has if anything grown since his death.
"Japanese people cannot relate to nor advocate Pan-Africanism and Rastafarianism, as Marley did. Marley becomes most persuasive for us Japanese when he sings songs like 'Them Belly Full (But We Hungry).' People who feel rejected by the big system are turning to Marley," said Nobutoshi Nakagawa, music critic and sociology professor at the Osaka Prefecture University.
"His message may make even an bigger impact in Japan if the Japanese society continues to create a class of poor young people who feel neglected," Nakagawa said, adding that the blues was making a comeback for the same reason.
"Young Japanese people are put in situations where their future economic security is no longer guaranteed, unlike their parents who enjoyed relative social and economic stability as the Japanese economy grew," Nakagawa said.
"But recent massive corporate downsizing has forced young people to take jobs on temporary contracts and to hop jobs," he said.
Furuya, the DJ, said that even though Rastafarianism had no significant presence in Japan, "we can relate to many aspects of it."
"Rasta tells us to respect our own culture and roots. As a Japanese citizen, I would like to keep my culture and roots alive through the style of reggae," she said.
Bob Marley toured Japan in 1979, playing eight shows in Tokyo and Osaka. Mitsuhiro Sugawara, who was an official photographer for the Tokyo events, remembered the performances as so powerful they appeared spiritual even to Asian eyes.
"You could tell the man was sent by God to deliver God's message," Sugawara said. "Bob Marley represented a new way of life -- to be with nature, to be loving, to be yourself."
On Marley's birthday, Sugawara presented a slide show about the Jamaican hero at a reggae club in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, to reiterate the message to younger fans.
"I think Bob Marley's message is universal. I think in all corners of the world, people can relate to his portrayal of oppression by a big government or big companies against the masses," Sugawara said.
"Powerful messages of resistance are still understood," he said. "I felt compelled to spread the words to others."
The world continues to be marred by violence, poverty and wars, opening the ears of young people to Marley, said Kei Kitanaka, who owns a reggae record store which is holding special sales this month to remember the icon.
"Japanese fans are returning to roots reggae," Kitanaka said.
"Many young Japanese are listening to reggae only as a summer-time groove and wearing reggae shirts as fashion. But among them are committed fans who appreciate the deeper meanings in the songs of Bob Marley," he said.
02/09/2005 13:03 GMT - AFP