There are no fans who compare to true Micheal Jackson fans. Ask some of MJ’s followers, who are paying approximately $1,000 for a chance to sleep with his most prized possessions in an exhibition in Japan. The event has been organized by promoters of “The Neverland Collection” at The Tokyo Tower, the world’s only official Jackson exhibition, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the untimely death of the King of Pop. Yesterday, fans began lining up at the Tokyo Tower (which to many has become a shrine of sorts) for an opportunity to be randomly selected for the mass sleepover. If chosen, fans will pay the required fee of what equates to approximately $1,000 American dollars in order to sleep overnight at the museum among Michael’s belongings. The arbitrarily selected fans will enter the Tokyo Tower venue from 10:30 pm on the night of June 25 (date of Jackson’s death one year prior), and will be able to stay until 8am the next morning. Fans will sleep on the floor surrounded by his clothes, props, and other memorabilia. Most of us here in the States have an undying love for MJ, but may scratch our heads not completely sure of the benefit such a event provides fans, but Hiroyuki Takamura, an employee of the Tokyo Tower says, “The idea may sound a bit odd to Western cultures, but in Japan the tradition of being with the remains and possessions of passed loved ones on the anniversary of their passing is an important ritual.” More than 300,000 people have flocked to the central Tokyo landmark since the opening of The Neverland Collection exhibition on May 1. Matt Taylor, producer of the exhibition, isn’t surprised at the number who flocked to Japan to pay homage to the best who ever did it. He reports, “Michael Jackson fans religiously visited daily, and many stay inside the venue for six hours or more. Many Japanese fans become overwhelmed with emotion when in the presence of so many things precious to Michael and iconic to the rest of the world. People stand fixed in front of artifacts with tears streaming down their face, still trying to come to grips with losing Michael.
