TOKYO - Michael Jackson was overcome with emotion as he made one of the first public appearances since his trial, with excited fans braving the rain to welcome him.
The pop icon flashed a peace sign to the cheering crowd as he arrived in a limousine to accept a "Legends Award" at MTV Japan's Video Music Awards.
Wearing orange-tinted sunglasses and a black jacket opened to expose a tight white T-shirt, Jackson briefly lost his composure as he took the stage.
But he mustered up the strength to thank fans in Japan, where the 47-year-old former child star has sold more than 100 million albums.
"Especially, I am happy to be in Japan again and very happy to be among the Japanese people tonight," he said, clasping his award. "I really love them very much. I really do."
It marked the most public outing by the superstar since he was acquitted on child molestation charges in June 2005 and fled the United States for the relative privacy of the Arab kingdom of Bahrain.
He has periodically been sighted around the Gulf region and in October travelled to London, where he went to see a musical penned by fellow pop star Elton John.
His Japanese supporters said they were unconcerned with Jackson's eccentricities or the graphic allegations aired about him.
"I believe that Michael is innocent and has done nothing wrong. I want him to be free from pressure so he can perform music once again," said Hideki Endo, 43, holding an umbrella outside the stadium in Tokyo's teeny-bopper district Harajuku.
His friend, Hideki Ani, 35, said he bought a ticket to stand along the red carpet that cost 40,000 yen (350 dollars) over an Internet auction.
"Of course, we came to see Michael Jackson more than any of the other talent at this event," Ani said.
"I admire solely his musical excellence and his dancing ability. I have no interest at all in what the media say about his trial or his having had plastic surgery," he said.
Many of the fans came without tickets after the sudden announcement a day earlier that Jackson would come out of hiding.
One of them was Takako Kataoka, 35, who wore a jacket from Jackson's 1984 tour promoting "Thriller," the best-selling album of all time.
"There are lots of groups of Michael fans from young to old here today who came to know about one another through the Internet," she said.
"Although he might be getting too old for a world tour I hope he will perform again, as he could do so for charity," she said.
Jackson reportedly has no plans to live again in the United States, where he left the 1,000-hectare (2,500-acre) Neverland fantasy ranch.
His promoters said he would travel Asia sightseeing, meeting business leaders and visiting orphanages.
Source: AFP